A Walk in the Woods

A Walkin theWoods

F e a t u r e sF i v e S w a r t h m o r eP o e t s 1 2When was the last timeyou wrote a poem?A W a l ki n t h e W o o d s 1 6The College is raisingits Crum consciousness.By Susan Milius ’75M o r e T h a n1 5 S e c o n d so f F a m e 2 4Winning on Millionaire,College Bowl, and Jeopardygoes beyond money and fame.By Andrea HammerB a r n a r d ’ sW o b b l e 2 8A scientific controversy atSproul ObservatoryBy Bill KentN i n t h M a n O u t 3 2Writer Eliot Asinof ’40celebrates life’s outsiders.By Jeffrey LottDepartmentsL e t t e r s 3The athletics controversyC o l l e c t i o n 4The campus is alive.A l u m n i D i g e s t 3 6Swarthmore eventsC l a s s N o t e s 3 8News of classmates and friendsD e a t h s 4 3Swarthmore remembers.Books & Arts 52Creativity abounds.I n M y L i f e 7 2Bath timeBy Marc Pachon ’96Our Back Pages 80Swarthmore friends for lifeBy Andrea HammerP r o f i l e sF i n d i n g a n E n dt o R o l l o v e r s 4 6Joe Kimmel ’44 indexes aa serious auto safety problem.By Audree PennerS t i c k i n g W i t ht h e U n i o n 6 0Stan Baker ’68 helped sparkVermont’s new Civil Unions Act.By Laura Markowitz ’85A H i t o f P o e t r y 6 2You can read a new poet eachday on Don Selby’s [’74] Web site.By Daisy Fried ’89S k y D a n c i n g 6 8Amelia Rudolph ’86 danceson mountainsides and skyscrapers.By Cathleen McCarthy16

P A R L O R T A L KS W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I N2It’s no coincidence that this column appears opposite the letters to the editor.Taken together, your letters to the Bulletin and my message to you represent atransaction that happens regularly in this magazine: Those of us who produce theBulletin have certain information we want you to know about Swarthmore, yet wepromise that if you will read what we send you, we will pay attention to what youhave to say to us.The letters in this issue show the College’s need to have more dialogue with itsalumni, and we are determined that the Bulletin should provide a place for that tooccur. Since early December, when the Board of Managers acted to restructure theathletics program, College administratorsWe hope you willand Board members have received lettersfind in theseand e-mails from more than 1,200 alumni,parents, and friends. The Bulletin itselfpages the same received an unprecedented 30 lettersintended for publication—about four timesessential experiencethe usual number.that everyEditing your letters was difficult;I know—because I did it myself. We couldSwarthmoreannot publish all of them, but those thatappear in this edition’s expanded lettershas known here.section not only reflect the range of opinionsexpressed but represent most of the arguments, objections, and expressions ofpraise found in your correspondence. (You can read the full text of every letter tothe Bulletin on our Web site, including those that we did not have space to publish.)In a personal thank you to all who wrote to the magazine, I expressed gratitudethat, no matter what their views, they cared enough about Swarthmore to communicate.Many institutions would be frightened by 1,200 letters—some college magazineeditors by even 30—but whether or not we agree with you, we value your passionfor Swarthmore.Some alumni are fairly angry at the College these days. But whatever you think ofthe athletics decision (or anything else, for that matter), we want the Bulletin to beeveryone’s magazine. We hope you will find in these pages the same essential experiencethat every Swarthmorean has known here. When information is presentedaccurately and fairly and dialogue—no matter how passionate, intense, or fraughtwith fundamental disagreement—is being conducted with civility, integrity, andmutual respect, everyone benefits.—Jeffrey LottSWARTHMORECOLLEGE BULLETINEditor: Jeffrey LottManaging Editor: Andrea HammerClass Notes Editor: Carol Brévart-DemmCollection Editor: Cathleen McCarthyStaff Writer: Alisa GiardinelliDesktop Publishing: Audree PennerDesigner: Suzanne DeMott Gaadt,Gaadt PerspectivesAdministrative Assistant:Janice Merrill-RossiInterns: Andrea Juncos ’01,Stephanie Gironde ’04Editor Emerita:Maralyn Orbison Gillespie ’49Contacting Swarthmore CollegeCollege Operator: (610) 328-8000www.swarthmore.eduAdmissions: (610) 328-8300admissions@swarthmore.eduAlumni Relations: (610) 328-8402alumni@swarthmore.eduPublications: (610) 328-8568bulletin@swarthmore.eduRegistrar: (610) 328-8297registrar@swarthmore.eduWorld Wide Webwww.swarthmore.eduChanges of AddressSend address label alongwith new address to:Alumni Records OfficeSwarthmore College500 College AvenueSwarthmore PA 19081-1390Phone: (610) 328-8435. Or e-mail:alumnirecords@swarthmore.edu.The Swarthmore College Bulletin (ISSN0888-2126), of which this is volumeXCVIII, number 4, is published inAugust, September, December, March,and June by Swarthmore College, 500College Avenue, Swarthmore PA 19081-1390. Periodicals postage paid atSwarthmore PA and additional mailingoffices. Permit No. 0530-620. Postmaster:Send address changes to SwarthmoreCollege Bulletin, 500 College Avenue,Swarthmore PA 19081-1390.©2001 Swarthmore CollegePrinted in U.S.A. on recycled paper

KUDOS TO KATHRYNI was absolutely delighted when I pickedup my September edition of the Bulletinand saw Dr. Kathryn Morgan’s beamingface on the cover. I couldn’t wait to read theinterview inside. When I did, all the memoriesof my Swarthmore experience floodedback—good and bad.I recall very clearly that, among theAfrican-American students, it was soempowering (and so much like homecoming)to see this petite and striking blackwoman strut the campus in her alwaysneatly coiffed Afro hair and long flowingAfrican robe dresses, with her sassy earringsswinging in the breeze.It was sheer joy to see from her interviewthat Professor Morgan is still as beautiful—insideand out—as she ever was.ROSALIND PLUMMER ’73Philadelphia, Pa.PROTECT ALUMNI PRIVACYThe letter from Kenneth [’47] and VirginiaStern Brown [’49] (December Bulletin) wasdisturbing. To learn that Swarthmore isselling our names for profit, and therebyactively cooperating in the encroachmentof the commercial-industrial complex onour privacy, is ground for their legitimatecomplaint.The response from Diane Crompton,director of development operations, wasappalling in its intellectual dishonesty.First, she claims that “only a tiny fractionof each purchase made with these cardsaccrues to the College.” Apparently, in heropinion, making money from selling alumninames is justified because the College ismaking only a little bit of money.Second, she states that the bank towhich Swarthmore has sold its alumni list“shares the College’s high standardsregarding ... privacy.” Are we really expectedto believe that Swarthmore is fully aware ofthe bank’s practices in selling its mailinglists? “Sharing” implies mutuality—ourstandards are equated with (i.e., loweredto) their standards. And how “high” areSwarthmore’s standards anyway? Apparently,only so high as selling names,addresses, and telephone numbers but notSocial Security numbers and mothers’maiden names!Finally, Ms. Crompton assures us, “Personswho do not wish to be solicited maybe taken off the list on request.” But whyshould it be our responsibility to preventSwarthmore from doing what it should nothave been doing in the first place? How arewe to know, until after the fact, just whatlist we have been put on? If Swarthmore isreally interested in preserving the privacyof its alumni (those “high standards,”remember?), then surely it should not beselling alumni names in the first place.PETER KATES ’61Norwell, Mass.Paul Metzger ’54 also wrote to object. His letteris on the Bulletin Web site.QUESTIONS ABOUT AN INNWe write in response to the December Bulletinarticle on plans for an inn to be builton a section of the College campus. Thatarticle focused on the project’s purportedeconomic benefits to the Borough ofSwarthmore, suggesting that the Collegeseeks to improve the Borough’s economichealth.Whether better economic health willresult is, however, much less certain thanthe article implied. A consultant to thejoint College-Borough task force on economicrevitalization concluded in hisreport that the inn would have no net economicbenefit to the Borough. It’s not evenclear the inn is viable without heavy Collegesubsidy. College-related businesswould generate optimal occupancy onlyabout 45 nights out of the year. In a 100-room inn (the proposed size), that wouldleave 32,000 “room nights” to cover. Toput these numbers in perspective, it may beuseful to compare the plans for an inn ofthe same size at Temple University, aninstitution with several graduate programsand an enrollment about 20 times the sizeof Swarthmore’s. In negotiating with adeveloper who also specializes in upscaleEDITOR’S NOTEBecause of the large volume of lettersreceived by the Bulletin inrecent months, we have expandedthe space allotted to letters in thisissue. Even with this additionalspace, many letters have been condensed,and, unfortunately, severalcould not be included. The full textof all letters received is posted onthe Bulletin Web site at www.swarthmore.edu/bulletin/mar01/letters.html.boutique hotels, Temple has discussed auniversity guarantee of 4,000 room nightsa year.Should an inn be developed, the Collegewill incur significant subsidy charges forboth infrastructure and daily operation.Those funds will not be available for theeducational purposes of the College,whether strengthening the curriculum,improving staff salaries and benefits,expanding the library, or any other needscharacteristic of a liberal arts college.In sum, the inn does not furtherSwarthmore’s liberal arts mission. It doesnot seem to us a prudent use of Swarthmore’sfinite financial and physicalresources.ROBERT DUPLESSISIsaac H. Clothier Professor of History andInternational RelationsRICHARD VALELLY ’75Professor of Political ScienceWHY SO UPSET?I can understand the sadness felt by membersof the College community at thedemise of football at Swarthmore. As a formermember of the wrestling team, I sharethat sadness, for wrestling too will nolonger be one of Swarthmore’s sports. But Iam puzzled by the upset and anger thatsome alumni have expressed at the consideredand difficult decision to restructurethe athletics program.I hope and trust the College’s missionwill always be that of providing the besteducation possible to its students. Reexaminingthe curriculum, adding newcourses and majors, rethinking the Honorsprogram, degree requirements, etc. havecaused and will continue to cause restructuringof the education offered at Swarthmore.It is hardly surprising that extracurricularactivities, including sports, needconsideration and changes as well.HERB HILLMAN ’47Cambridge, Mass.MINDING THE LIGHT?With its action in December to eliminatethree sports from the athletics program,the administration and the Board majoritycall into question not only the decisionitself, but the decision-making process.Many alumni feel that the decision ismore than a failure to maintain a 122-year-Please turn to page 76L E T T E R SM A R C H 2 0 0 13

a special meeting on Jan. 4, theBoard of Managers let stand its Dec.2 decision to cap at 15 percent theIIn admissions spaces reserved for recruitedathletes, end intercollegiate football andwrestling, and change women’s badmintonfrom varsity to club-sport status. The meeting,which was held in New York City, wascalled under bylaws that allow a minimumof five Managers to request a Board meeting.The only item on the agenda was furtherdiscussion of the recommendations ofthe Athletics Review Committee (ARC).In December, the ARC, which had beencreated by the Board a year earlier, calledon the College to limit the number ofrecruited athletes (those students forwhom athletic talent is a deciding factor intheir admission) to between 10 and 15 percentof each entering class—a figure thatwould make it impossible to continue football.The Board approved its recommendationby a vote of 21–8.In January, the Board heard new presentationsby spokespersons for both sidesand conducted what Board Chairman J.Lawrence Shane ’56 called “an informedand thoughtful discussion." This time, novote was taken, and the Board’s earlierdecision was reaffirmed by “a sense of themeeting."“I thought it served a useful purpose,"said the Board chair. “It allowed manyManagers to recheck their thinking on theissue after listening again to those whodisagreed."Debate over the process that led to theBoard vote has been almost as contentiousas controversy over the decisionitself. Many alumni who objected to thedecision said that, by voting at its Decembermeeting, the Board of Managers hadbroken its tradition of reaching conclusionsby consensus. December’s vote wasunusual, said Shane, “but the Board wasunanimous in agreeing that, for a variety ofreasons, a decision on the future of athleticshad to be made at that meeting. In theB O A R D R E A F F I R M SA T H L E T I C S C H A N G E Send, we all felt that it was important tohonor the position of those who could notaccept the ARC proposal by making their‘no’ votes part of the record."According to Dulaney Ogden Bennett’63, Board members on both sides of theissue agreed that delaying a decision on thefate of football and other sports wouldhave put the Admissions Office and coachesin an unethical position with prospectivestudents. Acting Dean of AdmissionsJim Bock ’90 told the ARC and the Boardthat Swarthmore could not admit studentathletesin good faith unless the future ofthe sports program was clear.College administrators spent much ofDecember explaining the need for athleticsreform to students, parents, andalumni.After responding to immediate studentand parent protests (see “The End Zone,"December Bulletin). President Alfred H.Bloom and Provost Jennie Keith, who hadchaired the ARC, met privately with footballplayers, wrestlers, and members of thewomen’s badminton team. Bloom told thestudent-athletes that he valued all aspectsof their contribution to the College andurged them to stay at Swarthmore.Dean of the College Bob Gross ’62reported in January that three athletestransferred to other schools after the endof the first semester and that several othersare considering transfers at the end of theacademic year.Asked to describe student reaction, JordanBrackett ’01, co-chair of Student Councilduring the first semester, said, “Reasonablepeople can disagree about importantissues, and there’s a reasonable disagreementhere," he said, “but it’s important tolisten [to students]. There were mechanismsin place, but [those] didn’t happen."Brackett acknowledged that “you can’thave a campuswide discussion about whichsport to cut. You have to prevent differentsegments of the community from going towar with each other.... But there’s a trickyPHOTOS BY ELEFTHERIOS KOSTANSAT AN OPEN MEETING ON DEC. 12, MEMBERS OFTHE ATHLETICS REVIEW COMMITTEE, TOPADMINISTRATORS, AND BOARD MEMBERS (TOP)EXPLAINED THEIR CONTROVERSIAL DECISIONAND LISTENED TO ALUMNI REACTION. FORMERDEAN OF ADMISSIONS BOB BARR ’56 (CENTER)WAS AMONG THE SPEAKERS OPPOSED TO THEDECISION. AFTER THE MEETING, BOARD CHAIRMANEMERITUS EUGENE LANG ’38 CONTINUED THECONVERSATION WITH BOB McCANN ’89 (BOTTOM).balance between releasing enough informationand releasing too much."Student protest included a two-hoursit-in outside the Admissions Office onDec. 4 and a large turnout for an openmeeting with members of the ARC and topadministrators that night. Reacting to fastmovingevents, The Phoenix published newarticles daily on its Web site and printed anunprecedented 36-page issue on Dec. 7.Sports columnist Kate Nelson-Lee ’03, avarsity lacrosse player, expressed the feelingsof some student athletes: “Thoughneither my coach nor the AdmissionsOffice has directly stated it to me, I firmlyM A R C H 2 0 0 15

6C S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NO L L E C T I O Nbelieve that I received an acceptance lettertwo years ago because I was ‘slotted.’ I’m arecruited athlete.... The ARC and the Boardmay not like it, but they are sending a messageto the student-athletes here that theyare second-class citizens, that being anathlete makes you different in a negativeway."After the Dec. 2 vote, word of the decisionspread quickly on the Internet,and both Board members and Collegeadministrators were inundated with messages,both pro and con. Alumni createdtwo Web sites to rally others to their cause,and the College posted letters of supporton its own Web site and later created a separatesite (http://athleticsreview.swarthmore.edu),featuring documents related tothe decision and answers to frequentlyasked questions.College officials carefully read and talliedresponses, writing personal replies tomany letters and e-mails. Diane Crompton,director of development operations, saidthat Board members and administratorsreceived communications from more than1,200 alumni, parents, and students in theweeks after the decision.Organizers of one alumni Web site,www.saveswatsports.com, announced inJanuary the formation of an organizationcalled “Mind the Light," which describesitself as “a standing organization, independentof the College, to ensure that thefuture of the College is reflective of itsQuaker past and an inclusive set of corevalues." In February, Neil Austrian ’61, whoresigned from the Board of Managers afterthe January meeting, became chairman ofMind the Light. James Noyes, father ofJulie Noyes ’95 and former College lacrossecoach, also resigned from the Board.Austrian, former president of theNational Football League, told the Bulletinin early March that he had resigned fromthe Board because of a combination of factors,including what he called “brokencommitments, a terribly flawed process,and an abrupt and hasty decision by theBoard, which hadn’t had time to considerany facts—and, incredibly, did not evenhave the facts in front of them when thedecision was made."Austrian said that Mind the Light“The scarcest resourceat Swarthmore is a placein the entering class—just 375 students peryear,” said Board memberCatherine GoodAbbott, who also servedon the Athletics ReviewCommittee.would seek to “educate the alumni as tohow this decision and process took place,so that it doesn’t happen again." Organizersof Mind the Light have sent e-mails tonumerous alumni and, Austrian said, a letterto all alumni was being prepared.Aletter to the College community signedby President Bloom, Provost Keith,and Board Chair Shane was mailed onDec. 12—the same day that more than 200alumni, mostly from the Philadelphia area,convened in the Swarthmore FriendsMeetinghouse to express their views.The session was moderated by AlanSymonette ’76, a member of the Board ofManagers and former president of theAlumni Association. It began with remarksby Bloom, who praised alumni for caring sodeeply about the long-term health of theCollege. He later told the Bulletin, “I feelterrible for alumni who feel that somethinghas been taken away from them. This wasan incredibly difficult decision, but I amconvinced that we did the right thing forSwarthmore.”Keith offered a detailed description ofthe ARC’s 10-month process, whichinvolved extensive discussion, rounds ofinterviews with coaches and student teamcaptains, and research into the athleticsprograms at peer colleges.The ARC determined that increasedspecialization and competition in DivisionIII sports required Swarthmore to seek outtalented athletes for most teams in orderfor the College to compete effectively in theCentennial Conference. (The conferenceincludes Bryn Mawr, Dickinson, Franklin& Marshall, Gettysburg, Haverford, Muhlenberg,Ursinus, Washington, and WesternMaryland colleges and The Johns HopkinsUniversity.) The committee told theBoard that a quarter of the male studentswould have to be recruited athletes ifSwarthmore were to support football aswell as the other male intercollegiatesports. The number of female athletesneeded would be lower, about 15 percent.The price in admissions, the ARC majoritydecided, was too high.At the open meeting, Board memberCatherine Good Abbott ’72, a member ofthe committee, explained that “it nowtakes 65 to 70 players to field a footballteam, which means that 1 in 10 [male studentsat the College] would have to playfootball.... The scarcest resource at Swarthmoreis a place in the entering class—just375 students per year—and 10 percent ofthe entering men would be needed for football."For two hours, alumni took turnsspeaking at microphones set up in theaisles. Like many who spoke, Diana JuddStevens ’63 praised her athletic experienceat the College as well as that of her husband,Paul Stevens ’65, and daughterKathryn ’89. She warned that eliminatingfootball would negatively affect othersports. She later said that “many studentsplay more than one sport and are involvedin other College activities. Top studentathleteswon’t apply to Swarthmore if theysense a negative attitude toward athleticshere."Robert Barr ’56, dean emeritus ofadmissions, said, “People whose lives I followedwith great pride … now may feelmarginalized, less valued." He went on toemphasize that College Board scores—"the other thing driving this"—have“nothing to do with the development ofstudents over the course of their careers."Fred Kyle ’54, a former Manager, spokein favor of the Board’s move. “I’m impressedwith the arithmetic of the problem,"he said. “My message to the Board isto walk up to the problem and face it. It’sbeen with us the whole 50 years I’ve beeninvolved with the College."—Jeffrey Lott and Cathleen McCarthy

J o i n i n gk n i t - i nt h eOOn a January afternoon, a dozen students cluster on thechairs and carpet of Parrish Parlors, chatting quietly whilehunched over their needlework. No, this is not a quiltingbee. They’re knitting.“It’s really relaxing,” says Bianca Passarelli ’01, head of the KnitWits club since 1998, “and it keeps you awake in class.”“Oh yeah,” says Maria Alvarez ’04, looking up from her latestcreation, a pair of fingerless glove/mittens that dangle from a wirering in her lap. “It also makes me feel like I’m being productive,even if I’m just watching TV or sitting on the floor, talking to myfriends.”“It’s a tactile thing. It just feels good,” adds another student,launching an animated discussion of yarns, from ultrasoft “bunnyangora” to spun dog hair—something no one in this group hastried. Yet.Once thought of as the pastime of gray-haired ladies with spareneedles stuck in their buns, knitting has become popular amongyouthful achievers, especially those frequently called on to wait.Julia Roberts is known to knit between takes on the movie set. Yarnis even infiltrating the fine arts. According to Philadelphia’s CityPaper (Jan. 4–11), Sheryl Robin David received a Pew Fellowshipgrant for her crochet art and, at Philadelphia’s Fringe Festival lastfall, a performance artist drew curious onlookers by knitting, unraveling,and reknitting the dress she was wearing.The click of needles can be heard these days in Swarthmore’sclassrooms, dorms, and libraries. Now, in Parrish Parlors, the soundrises to an industriousbuzz, as it doesevery Thursdayafternoon when theKnit Wits gather towork on their latestprojects and tradetechniques, patterns,and stories ofvaliant—but not always victorious—efforts. After an hour, Passarellipauses to update the group on ongoing community programs,such as the donation of knit caps to chemotherapy patientsat the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.Meanwhile, skilled knitters like Joanna Brown ’02—who workson a pair of gloves from a tricky system of single-pointed needles(most gloves are made on double-ended needles)—give pointers tonewcomers like Kenneth “Ross” Hoffman ’04, whose sister taughthim to knit over Christmas break. Hoffman clicks away at a redwool beret, his second project, pausing to yank the rim onto hishead, demonstrating a perfect fit. “That’s the nice thing about knittingfor yourself,” a woman says, smiling.As dusk falls over the snow-covered lawn outside, Alvarez pullsout a half-finished cable-knit sweater from her bag. “I’m really hopingto finish this before winter ends,” she says. “I’m from California.I’m freezing here!”—Cathleen McCarthyMEGAN CHOY’S [’03] HANDS AREN’T IDLE (TOP). CHOY, URSULA WHITCHER’03 (BOTTOM LEFT), AND CATHY TA ’03 (BOTTOM RIGHT) ARE AMONG ADOZEN “KNIT WITS” WHO MEET WEEKLY TO WORK ON KNITTING PROJECTS.PHOTOS BY ELEFTHERIOS KOSTANSM A R C H 2 0 0 17

8C S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NO L L E C T I O NH o w g r e e n i s m yS w a r t h m o r e ?In his Sustainable Development class this fall, Wlodzimierz“Wlod” Wojcik, Cornell Visiting Professor of Engineering andEnvironmental Studies, lost no time giving students their mission:a greening screening of the College. “Environmental sustainability”is a familiar topic for Wojcik. He has explored it for severalyears in his homeland, Poland, where he teaches at the Politechnikaand the University of Mining and Metallurgy in Krakow. But comparedwith Poland, a place in dire need of pollution control,Swarthmore’s campus was already pretty green.“There’s no doubt that compared to other universities in theUnited States and around the world, we are far ahead,” Wojcik says.“A lot of colleges are very proud of what they have done, but comparedto Swarthmore, they are just at the beginning—especially interms of pest control, chemical usage, recycling, and composting.”However, there is always room for improvement, and WojcikD o w nb y t h eo l db i o s t r e a mchallenged his students to find it. He divided them into committeesand set them loose on the campus. In the course of the semester,they grilled Swarthmore’s faculty department heads, directors ofFacilities Management, Environmental Services, Dining Services,and the Scott Arboretum and dissected recycling, chemical usage,land management, and shuttle transportation. Students studiednot only technical points of view but also legal, financial, and evenpublic relations.Wojcik’s students reported their findings at a December presentation,and details can be found on an impressive student-designedWeb site (http://www.sccs.swarthmore.edu/org/green). The PoliticalScience and Biology departments were praised for the environmentalconnections in their courses, and suggestions were madefor more environmental awareness in the curricula of the English,Economics, and Chemistry departments. Students also compli-This lovely rock garden near Bond Hall(right) is actually an experiment in pollutionreduction and stormwater management,constructed as an alternative tounderground cement drainage pipes in1997. A collaboration of the Scott Arboretum,an engineering firm, and a landscapedesigner from Longwood Gardens, thebiostream was designed to imitate a naturalstreambed. It was intended to reducewater pollutants by causing storm water torun over a bed of river rocks, which wouldleach out heavy metals from campus roadwaysand roofs before they entered thewaterways via Crum Creek.The effectiveness of the biostream as apollution control was never scientificallytested, however, until senior engineeringmajors Marc Jeuland and Stephen Armahconducted a study last fall for Water Qualityand Pollution Control, a class taught byProfessor of Engineering Arthur McGarity.After analyzing the runoff from threestorms, the students found that thebiostream removed 20 percent of “suspendedsolids” and 31 percent of organicmatter, both of which can create problemsin rivers and creeks. However, in late fallwhen the study was done, decomposingplants actually added to the amount ofnitrate and phosphate in the water, whichcan tax the oxygen production of riversand streams.Along with further studies to analyze

CORNELL VISITING PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERINGWLODZIMIERZ WOJCIK CHALLENGED HISSTUDENTS TO FIND WAYS FOR THE COLLEGE TOMEASURE ITS “ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY.“THEIR RESULTS WERE PRESENTED AT A CAMPUSCONFERENCE IN DECEMBER (LEFT).mented the greening efforts of administration,staff (especially the Scott Arboretum),and the student group Earthlust but noted“a lack of collaboration and communication”among these groups.The biggest surprise for Wojcik—who isat Swarthmore as part of the Polandexchange program—was the studentsthemselves. “I thought they would be moreaggressive and would oversimplify, butinstead they seemed to understand thecomplexities of the problem. They saw thatthere is not one simple solution, that thereare many constraints and connections, andmany factors involved in environmentalissues.”Jesse Hartigan ’04 summed this up atthe presentation. “We live in various systems,from the most general, the universe,to the most specific, local ecosystems,” hesaid. “Within each of these systems is aseries of interrelated components, physical,psychic, and spiritual…. The well-being ofeach depends on the well-being of all theothers.”—Cathleen McCarthyTHINKGLOBALHEALTHPulitzer Prize–winningsciencejournalist Laurie Garrettwarned a packedKirby Lecture Hall last November of animpending global health crisis and theperils of ignoring it. Garrett’s talk“Public Health—For Whom?” mixedhard, epidemiological data and sociologicalanalysis with individual storiesand photographs culled from her awardwinningbook The Coming Plague (1994)and her latest Betrayal of Trust: The Collapseof Global Public Health (2000).Garrett described AIDS as “thebiggest killer in the history of ourspecies” and said that the epidemic isstill in its infancy. She also noted thatthe United States spends more onhealth than any other country, yet onein five is still without health insurance.As part of the College’s Media Fellowprogram, Garrett also met with studentjournalists over lunch before her talk.Previous fellows include 60 Minutesreporter Mike Wallace and Tom Bettag,executive producer of Nightline. “Hercommand of the political climate, economics,and all the details is just brilliant,”said Kathryn Tong ’01, a politicalscience major. “Swarthmore students,because of our sense of community, areextremely interested in the issues sheraises, such as access to health care inthe Third World. She’s definitely aninspiration.”—Alisa GiardinelliFORMERPROFESSORRETURNS ASCONGRESSMANCongressman Rush Holt [D–N.J.], whotaught physics at the College from1982 to 1986, returned to Swarthmorein February to offer an insider’s look atthe government. Holt was re-elected inNovember as a democrat from New Jersey’s12th district, by a margin of only750 votes.Civility, which he defined as “not justpolitics [but] courtesy and conformitywith the rules of social order,” is “generallylacking” in the government, he said.Without it, he warned, Congress will becontinually engaged in campaigning andwill approach all issues in a partisanmanner. He also voiced concern aboutPresident Bush’s “divisive policies,”which he believes must be examinedcarefully.He spoke with more warmth about hisexperience at the College. “Swarthmorewas a great place to be,” he said. Whilehe taught here, Holt was an adjunct forthe government, using his academicbackground to give advice on topicssuch as arms control.He continued as a government liaisonwhile serving as assistant director of thePrinceton Plasma Physics Laboratory,before running for Congress in 1996.Holt ended his talk by encouraging facultyand students to devote a little timeto politics.—Jonathan Ehrenfeld ’04seasonal effects, Jeuland suggests addingwater-leaching wetlands plants. “The typesof plants being used there could make a significantdifference,” he says. “There hasn’tbeen much research in that area, so it’s hardto know which plants work best.” For hissenior design project, Jeuland plans to producea “constructed wetlands for stormwatertreatment”—using wetlands plants.Claire Sawyers, director of the ScottArboretum, welcomes the input. “Based onour success with the biostream, we’re discussingputting a storm-water retentionpond on Parrish lawn, near Mertz Hall,”she says. “That would give us the opportunityto try additional plants that could serve asbioscreens. If students are able to identifysuch plants, that would be great.”—Cathleen McCarthyCLUMPS OF ORNAMENTAL GRASSES, YELLOW FLAGIRIS, AND JOE PYE WEED WERE PLANTED IN THEBIOSTREAM TO IMITATE A NATURAL STREAMBED(RIGHT). IN 1999, THE PLANTING SURVIVED WHATARBORETUM DIRECTOR CLAIRE SAWYERS CALLS“THE CAPACITY TEST,” WHEN HURRICANE FLOYDDROPPED 6.6 INCHES OF RAIN IN 24 HOURS.STEVEN GOLDBLATT ʼ67M A R C H 2 0 0 19

5 F I V ES W A R T H M O R E P O E T SMUGGYATTICH o l a h a nE h r h a r tS h a wZ i m e tH o f s t a d t e rVOLTAGES W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I N12When was the last timeyou wrotea poem?As a teenager and college student, I wrote reams of bad poetry. It’sall still up there in my attic, and I cringe at the thought of runningacross that old carton of typescripts and journals. Would I read it?Of course—but I wouldn’t want you to.Even though I’m still a writer, I only rarely tackle the writing ofa poem. My most recent was a love poem to my wife, written toaccompany a gift a little more than a year ago. It produced a lumpin our throats and a really nice hug, so I guess it was an emotionalsuccess, if not a literary triumph. But I’m mostly content to leavepoetizing to the real poets.Swarthmore has produced many poets, and surely they run thegamut from the gift-verse variety to the true artist. Ezra Poundonce wrote that “most people poetize more or less, between theages of seventeen and twenty-three. The emotions are new, and totheir possessor, interesting, and there is not much of mind or personalityto be moved. As the man, as his mind, becomes a heavierand heavier machine, a constantly more complicated structure, itrequires a constantly greater voltage of emotional energy to set it inharmonious motion."These six Swarthmore poets still have the current runningthrough them. Whether you wrote a poem last week or last year—or haven’t tried one since you were 23—we hope you will enjoytheir work.—Jeffrey LottS U S A N H O L A H A N ’ 6 1Holahan (called Randi Liff at Swarthmore) won the PeregrineSmith Poetry Competition for her first book of poems, SisterBetty Reads the Whole You (Gibbs-Smith, 1998). Her poems havebeen published in Agni, Black Warrior Review, Crazyhorse, SenecaReview, The Women’s Review of Books, and many others; her fictionhas been published in American Short Fiction, Icarus, and the anthologyBitches and Sad Ladies, among others. She holds a Ph.D. inEnglish and a law degree from Yale University. She has taught writingat Yale and the University of Rochester, practiced law inConnecticut, worked as a restaurant reviewer and as an editor atNewsday and the Yale University Press. She now lives in EastMiddlebury, Vt., with her husband, the novelist Thomas Gavin.C o u l d B e D y e i n g—after Elijah Bemiss, The Dyer’s Companion,2nd ed., Massachusetts, 1815TEASELSOn this low-color day with teasels of sun and the air a cool muggythe dyer’s only home companionblanches. Across the street the school bus loiters.Raise your own teasels, Bemiss says, and you have themwhen you want them. Unlike children. Our Bemisskept his kids aroundby pledging, for example: Use milk paint,you sleep in the room the night you paint it. TodayI haul up to the attic the sagging footstool to hide beforeMother arrives. I never finishedthe cushion I’m making [a mess of]from a square of antique Turkoman to coverthe citron velvet she said spoiled the whole living room.Now the son’s gone again, I could use help moving furniturewhen you stop back from where you ran off toTHOMAS GAVIN

efore the school bus lodged on Rockingham, panting,grumbling like the woman in the store last night who neededreal junket, Like what you get from a kosher deli. She mincednot a word about her kids demanding puddingthen wheeled backto cathect to Bird’s Custard, closer in colors to whatshe had on anyway than to the quinceof my footstool. Did Mother say disgusting?FOR YELLOW DRAB: Take three quarters of a pound of fustick,two ounces madder, two ounces logwood, boil well; add one quarterpound of alum, run your cloth one hour; sadden with two ouncescopperas and handle till your colour pleases.That not my color nor the footstool’swill ever please Mother, no madder how much handling,could sadden me but I’ve dropped the momentthrough the attic stairsnear where the twelve-foot light chainmy kid hung last time he visited dangles.Bemiss.Somecompanion he turned out to be. A manwho could promise Good CiderEasily Made as Bad never had kids. But. My sunhas returned with crushed, soaked weeds andflowerheads more brown than fulvous yellow.I don’t knowwhat else I can ask from this life.© Susan Holahan. First published in the High Plains LiteraryReview. From Sister Betty Reads the Whole You.W . D . E H R H A R T ’ 7 3W.D. Ehrhart is the author of seven books of poetry, the mostrecent of which is Beautiful Wreckage: New & Selected Poems(Adastra Press, 1999) as well as six books of prose essays and memoirs.His poems have been widely published in American PoetryReview, The Christian Science Monitor, Poetry International, Poet Lore,Long Shot, Poetry Wales, and many others.He has edited or co-edited fourbooks of poetry about the Vietnamand Korean wars. A U.S. Marine Corps Vietnamveteran, he has worked as a merchant seaman, laborer, journalist,and teacher; visiting professor of war and social consequences atthe University of Massachusetts–Boston; and writer-in-residencefor the YMCA’s National Writer’s Voice Project. The recipient of aPew Fellowship in poetry and grants in both poetry and prose fromJEFF HURWITZWATERGATEFULVOUSYELLOWthe Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, he is currently a research fellowin American Studies for the University of Wales–Swansea andlives in Philadelphia with his wife, Anne, and daughter Leela. Whilemaintaining his research fellowship and a busy speaking schedule,this spring, he's also teaching high school English at the HaverfordSchool.O n t h e E v e o f D e s t r u c t i o nThe weekend Watts went up in flames,we drove from Fullerton to Newport Beachand down the coast as far as Oceanside,four restless teenaged boys three thousand milesfrom home, Bob Dylan’s rolling stonesin search of waves and girls and anyonewho’d buy us beer or point us toward the fun.California. What a high. The Beach Boys,freeways twelve lanes wide, palm trees everywhere.And all the girls were blonde and wore bikinis.I’d swear to that, and even if it wasn’t true,who cared? A smalltown kid from Perkasie,I spent that whole long summer with my eyeswide open and the world unfoldinglike an open road, the toll booths closed,service stations giving gas away.What did riots in a Negro ghettohave to do with me? What could causesuch savage rage? I didn’t knowand didn’t think about it much.The Eve of Destruction was just a song.Surf was up at Pendleton. The war in Vietnamwas still a sideshow half a world away,a world that hadn’t heard of Ia Drang or Tet,James Earl Ray, Sirhan Sirhan, Black Panthers,Spiro Agnew, Sandy Scheuer, Watergate.We rode the waves ’til two MPswith rifles chased us off the beach:military land. “Fuck you!” we shoutedas we roared up Highway One, windows open,surfboards sticking out in three directions,thinking it was all just laughs, just kicks,just a way to kill another weekend,thinking we could pull this off forever.© W.D. EhrhartFREEWAYSM A R C H 2 0 0 113

5 F I V E S W A R T H M O R E P O E T SPETALSA N G E L A S H A W ’ 9 0Angela Shaw’s poems have twice been included in the BestAmerican Poetry anthology, in 1994 (edited by A.R. Ammons)and in 1996 (edited by Adrienne Rich), and won a Pushcart Prizein 1999. They have also been published in Poetry, Seneca Review,Chelsea, Field, Indiana Review, and others and have been anthologizedin The New Young American Poets (Southern Illinois UniversityPress, 2000). She was a 1998–99 Fellow at the Fine Arts WorkCenter in Provincetown, Mass., and received a grant from theConstance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts. She holds anM.F.A. in writing from Cornell. She has taught Englishin Taiwan; headed a grants-giving organization;and, most recently, worked as a grantswritingconsultant in Boston. She recentlydecided to work full time on her poetry. She liveswith her husband, Felix L’Armand ’90.NYLONC r e p u s c u l eYellows cast their spells: the evening primroseshudders unclosed, sells itself to the sphinxmoth’s length of tongue. Again a lacklusterhusband doesn’t show. A little missuseases the burnt suffering of a catfishsupper, undresses, slowly lowersinto a lukewarm tub. In her honeymoonnightgown she rolls her own from the bluecan of Bugler, her lust a lamp the wickof which is dipped in sloe gin. Handswander to her hangdog breasts, jaded Friday nightunderpants, hackneyed nylon in heat.TONGUEFELIX LʼARMAND ʼ90back of all false tongues. She thinks of the chawlodged in his lip when he talks or her husband’smiddle finger in the snuff box and rubbedalong his gum. She walks, wanting him, into the lattermath,into the primrose, the parched field itchingwith critters. She walks, wanting and unwantinghim while birds miss curfew into the thick of the thighhighgrass, craven and dangerous, in the heavy red.By Angela Shaw. © Poetry, where “Crepuscule” was firstpublished. Reprinted in The Best American Poetry, 1996.K R I S T I N C A M I T T A Z I M E T ’ 6 9Kristin Camitta Zimet’s first book of poetry, Take in My Arms theDark (Sow’s Ear Press, 1999) was nominated for the PatersonPoetry Prize and the Library of Virginia Literary Award. Her poemshave been published in The Centennial Review, Now & Then, JAMA,Lullwater Review, Bogg, and others and in several anthologies,including HomeWorks: A Book of TennesseeWriters (University of Tennessee Press). Shewas nominated for a 2000 Pushcart Prizeand has received awards from the Pen &Brush Club of New York, Now & Then magazine,Appalachian Heritage, Berea College,and the Poetry Society of America. A cofounderof the AppalachianCenter for Poets and Writers and the Coalition forJobs and the Environment, she works as a naturalist,leading group hikes near where she lives in Winchester, Va.JOHN ZIMETM e t a m o r p h o s i s(for Huggy-Bear, stockbroker turned Tattoo Master)TATTOOS W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NNow his black taxidermy outstares her, the sternheads of squirrel and deer. Now the house confesses,discloses her like a rumor, vague and misquoted.From the porch, from the glider she spies rosepinktwilight flyers-sphinx moths drinkingthe calyx, the corolla, the stamendry. The stuttering wings, the spread petalssuggest an interlingual breathing, a beatingAt the bottom-most switchback,groin of the watershed, some boggy turn of trailwhere tire welts and boot prints masha labyrinth you cannot thread dryshod,you always hoped to see them congregate:sulphur, swallowtail, great spangled fritillary,unrolling long proboscises to suckpiss-salted mud.14

When war left most of your platoonface-down in jungle muck,each shriek remembered slid a needlehot under your skin, bled into youa cyanotic stain. Into your handsyou took them first;beneath your fingers playeda sharp tattoo of grief.The more you saw flesh tatter on the wind,small shimmerings pinched out,the more you loved,the more you longed to shedtie, jacket, business shirtto give them opening to perchupon your matted arms, mountainous chest,and golden haunches.Then from the floor of the exchange,the larval swarm of traders at their work,the tapeworm numbers reeling whiteout of the entrails of the stiff machines,your heart, infinitely scaled,pumping to full extensionburst you forth. Now you bearthe mark of all the lost oneseverywhere; they burn toward you,cling to your tropic heat,flex wings upon your breast;they quiver at your knee,fold in your elbow, flutteringthousands of nameless friends,your body the ground of their continuance,a silent requiem of butterflies.© Kristin Camitta Zimet, from Take in My Arms the DarkSULPHURSWALLOWTAILABSTRACTM A R C E L I H U H O F S T A D T E R ’ 6 7Marc Elihu Hofstadter majored in French at Swarthmore. Heremembers “very little creative writing” but says one Frenchprofessor in particular, also a poet, inspired him. He holds a Ph.D.in literature from the University of California (UC)–Santa Cruz,where he wrote a dissertation on the late poetry of William CarlosWilliams. He taught at UC–Santa Cruz, the Université d’Orléansin France, and Tel Aviv University before going back to school atUC–Berkeley for a master’s in library and information studies. Heworks as a librarian for the San Francisco Municipal Railway. Hispoems and translations of the French poet Yves Bonnefoy havebeen published in Exquisite Corpse, Pearl, The Malahat Review,Confrontation, Talisman, Berkeley Works, and others and his essaysin Twentieth Century Literature, The Redwood Coast Review, RomanceNotes, and others. His first book of poems, House of Peace(Mother’s Hen Press) was published in 1999. He is a practicingBuddhist and lives in Oakland with his partner David Zurlin.O n R e a d i n g F r a n k O ’ H a r a ’ s 1 9 5 9B o o k J a c k s o n P o l l o c k i n 2 0 0 0When I first thumbed these still-glossy pages, Frank,your flesh was real and could quiver.I’d take the New Haven Local train to New York Cityto see the riotous abstract paintings at the Modern Museum,knowing nothing about the man who’d organized the shows.When I bought this book in the Museum storeyou were only an art scholar to me,not yet famous as a poet,and I was a kid—fourteen to your thirty-three.I wonder if I ever saw your broken nose in the lobby.If our eyes ever met.I like to fantasize, it’s fun, and besidesI love you, so I can’t be blamed.Not as I love my lover, but you’re special to me, Frank.You were the blade’s edge, laughter in the street,sugar nuggets.You’re these to me now and spark my poems.I touch your pages forty-one years laterand it’s a little like touching you.A gap of years still separates us, Frank. And death.But we’re getting closer.Someday we’ll have the same address.If you see me, wink. I’d be delighted.© Marc Elihu HofstadterTRAING. PAUL BISHOPM A R C H 2 0 0 115

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A W a l k i n t h e W o o d sThe College Seems to Be Raising Its Crum ConsciousnessBy Susan Milius ’75Illustrations by Barbara Seymour ’63Roger Latham ’83, whothinks a lot aboutsuch matters, hasoffered a tour of some of themost important parts of theCrum Woods.I should be contemplatingthe nature of importance, butit’s Friday, it’s sunny, and it’sa perfect unwind-in-thewoodsafternoon. I findmyself wondering how thelate James Michener ’29would begin a sweeping epiccalled “Crum.”He could certainly reach back to the17th century, when Swedes put up a fortnot far away on Tinicum Island, andadventurous souls started settling alongthe creek. Today’s name for it reportedlydescends from their Cromkill or Crumkill,meaning “crooked creek.” But why limitthe action to the paltry centuries sinceEuropean arrival? Pennsylvania statearchives refer to earlier residents: the“Ockanickon” tribe.Or why not go for the full Michenertreatment, with swirling plasma lumpinginto a planet with eons of geologic wrinkling and crackling on itssurface? He’d have a fair diversity of landscape to explain, as today’smostly mild-mannered creek slides by swamps, meadows, and steephills. I check College holdings on Roger’s map. The 140 woodedacres on the main campus crawl northward from the Yale Avenuebridge in the shape of a pudgy inchworm.Roger, however, skips Michener’s Big Bang and jumps to a modernBig Oops.He taught plant ecology at the College during the late ’90s, and,before he resigned to do environmental consulting, he analyzed theCrum’s importance as a teaching resource and a biological community.He found that easily a dozen faculty members, from artists tozoologists, send from 150 to 300 students each year into the woodsfor class projects.Roger identified six patches of particular ecological interest—just the start of a list, he says (see map, page 20). These gemsAsk anybody who spenttime at Swarthmore, andthey have memories of theCrum—some sunny andsome dark.deserve particular attention,but if the College’s woods areto keep their biological valuefor teaching, the place needsmore protection from the illsof surrounding development.“Crum Woods are a pricelessfacility for education that isbeing allowed to deteriorateneedlessly,” Roger says. Hispoint: This is one lab thatcan’t be replaced. If bad managementlets it degrade, theCollege can’t build anotherCrum.“I didn’t really think anybody wouldread my report for months,” Roger says. Injust a few days, however, Larry Schall ’75,College vice president for facilities andservices, phoned.Larry, too, had been analyzing thecampus and the Crum as part of an overallstrategy for planning for new facilities thatthe College will almost certainly need inthe future. He was considering a proposal—sinceabandoned—to move some athleticfields to the far side of the creek andmake them accessible by a foot bridge.When they talked, Roger found that the bridge might be placedatop one of his six gems.Larry, of course, had not declared war on ecologically valuablewetlands and did understand the teaching value of the woods.Some of his own formative experiences with fluid dynamics camefrom Professor Alburt Rosenberg’s “Physics for Poets” class excursionsto watch leaves floating down the creek. Larry and Roger simplyfound an alternative place to put a footbridge, should anyonedecide to build one.This incident, among others, inspired a new committee to makesure right hands knew what left hands were up to and that allhands would shake on it. Several long-term advocates for the Crumhave joined the effort, now chaired by Arthur McGarity, an environmentalengineering professor who has been sending students tostudy the creek’s water quality for the past 15 years. The Collegeseems to be raising its Crum consciousness considerably.M A R C H 2 0 0 117

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I N18To show me what the fussis about—both the goodand the bad—Roger startswalking from DuPontScience Building parking lot.As the path drops down intothe familiar dappled lightand rustling woods, theshouting from the adjacentrugby field, the slamming ofcar doors and growling ofmotors, even the subsonicreproaches of the CornellScience and EngineeringLibrary fall away. Roger maybe worrying about deterioration,but at first glance, theplace looks great to me.For one thing, it looksmuch more “the same” thana lot of places on campus. Ihaven’t been back much sinceI graduated, and today I’vebeen fighting time-travel vertigo.(The steps down to thefirst floor of Martin lookexactly the way they usedto—my shoulders hunch—but then … how can there bedouble doors right there?Where am I?) The Crum,thank heavens, still looks,smells, sounds like the Crum.I rejoice that some of thegood things in life do withstand time.I’m trying not to get too sappy about it all when Roger stops atan offshoot of the path, and there’s Alligator Rock. My determinationnever, ever to grow up to be a mumbling, dreamy-eyed nostalgiabore dissolves completely. Oh, Carolyna, Carolyna, do youremember? I can virtually see one of my beloved roommatesperched there—the people of a lost world rush back, and longgoneescapades stream by.Ask just about anybody who spent time at Swarthmore, andthey have memories of the Crum, some sunny and some very dark.Freshman picnics, goofing off on a postcard-autumn Saturday,falling in love, ingesting substances not approved by the FDA, tryingto outwalk misery or find privacy for despair, wavering alongthe Crum-crossing log to explore the ruins on the other side, cheeringas misguided Regatta optimists try to paddle a mattress fasterthan equally misguided sailors on duct-taped recycling containers,skinny-dipping at midnight, encountering local flashers, huffingupward along some of the worst of geology’s bad jokes on crosscountryrunners….Roger, a gentleman as well as a scholar, has been silently evaluatingtree spacing in the middle distance. I step sheepishly backinto the present.My tumble into lost timeillustrates one of the ironiesof the campaign to protectthe Crum. There’s a lot ofnostalgia and affection forthese woods. That’s hardly aproblem. What Roger andlike-minded fans protest isthe pervasive attitude that weall have more urgent problems,and that overall theCrum can take care of itself.Not so, he says. For onething, so many people nowuse the woods that agendaseasily clash. Roger describes atrip-up with even one of hischerished allies, the ScottArboretum. One day, henoticed Scott volunteers clusteringat the base of a gianttulip tree behind Lang MusicBuilding. Strolling closer, hewas horrified to find that, onorders from ArboretumDirector Claire Sawyers, theyhad already fatally hackedone of the oldest and largestlianas in the Crum.Roger describes it at as “agreat, hairy serpent” of a vinethat snaked high into the treewith a dark fringe of abovegroundroots. It had reachedsexual maturity, so Roger could point out flowers many studentshad never seen; in the fall, great billows of foliage wowed his studentswith sports-car red. A year after its destruction, he’s notentirely reconciled to its loss.Claire, however, has told me her version of the incident, and sheremains convinced the liana had to go. It was poison ivy, for heaven’ssake. It may not have grown directly beside the path, but thetree loomed near enough; she worried about the many visitors tosuch a highly traveled spot. And, each year, the vine ripened enoughfat little berries to start plenty more poison ivy.Claire cringes at the thought of airing the story. But no, I don’tdismiss Roger as some reckless nutso or her as a vandal. Instead, Ithink they’ve both hit on a great example of the difficulties and theneed for a comprehensive strategy for living with the Crum.As I follow Roger along the slope, we come across signs of whathe and Claire agree counts as a major menace to the Crum: erosion.It figures in a report on woodland issues that Claire has hauled outto show me. Written by environmental consultants AndropogonAssociates of Philadelphia, the text begins: “The most significantsource of damage in Crum Creek woods, without question, is excessivestorm water runoff and the erosion sedimentation that it causes.”They warn that so much building on the campus, so many

paved walkways, parking lots, and impervious roofs send watersluicing down the steep hill, gouging the trails, and cutting gullies.And that, Claire points out, started in 1988. Now, there’s even morecampus development to shed water.Arboretum volunteers and College grounds crews have beenfighting these trends. Roger points along the high edge of the slopeto beams staked as check dams, and more beams lie across the trailsas speed bumps and diverters for the runoff.He pauses to nudge a beam that has slippedaskew, and I see a miniravine, a few inchesdeep, snaking around the beam’s edge. Soilsaving on such a steep hillside demandsconstant vigilance.As we follow the path behind LangMusic Building, we come to a megaravine.If I clambered down its muddy sides,squeezing among the tree limb and brusherosion barriers that crews have built, Iwould disappear below ground level. I’m notexactly a towering hulk, but an erosion gullydeep enough to swallow even a nonhulkseems too deep to me. As for power ofrunoff, I’m now convinced.Working our way down to the water, we find a good illustrationof another menace to the Crum: aliens.Roger gestures westward across the creek to another of hisprime pedagogical spots. He has led students to this groveof trees and points out there’s basically onespecies. No other trees mingle, and virtuallynothing grows underneath. What causesthis distribution? Roger asks the students.“The students guess that it’ssomething like a toxic waste dump,”he says. Rarely does someone figureout we’re standing among botanicalbullies. The trees, Norway maples,are spreading throughout NorthAmerica, crowding out other specieswith the ruthlessness of a sci-fi alieninvasion. And no, Roger says, no one hasdemonstrated how Norway maples manageto do this, though his students havedone some great projects testing ideas suchas killer shade.Claire also worries about invasive species.She’s organized a SWAT team of volunteers whowork their way through key parts of the Crumduring winter, wrestling out Norway maples.To appreciate the volunteers’progress as wellas the challenge theyface, Claire adviseswalking down to theCrum’s edge in fall.There’s a lot of nostalgiaand affection for thesewoods. But there’s alsothe attitude that we havemore urgent problems,and the Crum cantake care of itself.Native maples flare bright yellow early in the season, but Norway’sstay green for weeks longer. The near side of the Crum with most ofthe College buildings, where crews have labored for several years,looks calendar fall-colorful. The far side, however, sports so manystill-green Norway maples, it could be a woodland in a differentseason.Norway maples top Roger’s list of most alarming aliens, but headds others (see “Threats to the Crum,”page 23). Already, these as well as less virulenttakeover artists have, to some degree,infiltrated about half the woodland acreage,he warns. Instead of the rich mosaic of plantcommunities now patchworked over thelandscape, the woods could end up dominatedby fewer species or, to use Roger’s words,“simplified and impoverished.”Roger has led the way into CrumMeadow, and, after so much talk aboutmenaces to the Crum, it’s a pleasure to hearwhat treasures remain. Roger gestures acrossthe water toward roughly four acres he callsTrillium Slope. Alien species are creeping in,but the slope still offers a glimpse of whatpre-European woodland probably looked like in southeasternPennsylvania. In spring, before the trees leaf out, native wildflowersburst out to take advantage of their few weeks of full sun, anddozens of trilliums dot the slope. Of greateco-historical value it may be, but it alsosounds lovely.He gestures toward othergreat spots to show to students,including a realAmerican chestnut on the farside of the creek. It’s asprout of one of thegiants that perishedwhen a blight sweptthrough the country earlierthis century, and thesprout’s prognosis doesnot look promising. Fewpeople still alive have had achance to meet a living chestnut tree, evena doomed one.We stroll by the Scott Arboretum’s array of some300 hollies, which Claire has called “one of the arboretum’smost significant collections.” I still hear debate among alumniabout the location, but the trees certainly look fat,flossy, and happy to be there. Then we follow apath roughly parallel to the creek, toward one ofthe wild spots that Roger has put on his gemslist, the marshy hollow that had anear-miss with a bridgebuilder’sback hoe.Out here on a sunnyM A R C H 2 0 0 119

T h e C r u m W o o d s o fS w a r t h m o r e C o l l e g eA Map by Barbara Seymour ’63Victoria MillsSEPTA R-3TracksClothier HallOutstandingNaturalAreasS W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NCrum CreekFrom its source in Malvern, ChesterCounty, to its confluence with theDelaware River between Ridley Park andEddystone, 4 miles downstream fromSwarthmore, Crum Creek runs22.5 miles, draining a watershed ofsome 38 square miles—an area almosttwice the size of Manhattan Island.© RHODA MAURERAlligator RockThis outcropping of Wissahickonschist along the main path to thecreek is a favorite spot for picnics,trysts, and contemplation.TERRY WILDTrillium SlopeThree species of trillium are found inthe woods: white trillium (T. grandiflorum),purple trillium (T. erectum), andthe yellowish-green toadshade (T.sessile). Shown here is the grandiflorum,which fades to pink after blooming.SCOTT ARBORETUM20

The Ville of SwarthmoreCollege Athletic FacilitiesComposting AreaYale AvenueCrum Meadow andCrumhengeThough they look like remnantsof a lost civilization, these stones wereplaced in the Crum Meadowin the late 1980s. The entire meadowcovers about five acres.Skunk-Cabbage HollowThese harbingers of spring growin the wetlands of a former oxbowin the creek.Southern Red OakAt the extreme northern border of itsrange, southern red oaks hide amongthe tulip poplars and other species.They may be the last survivors of anancient stand.ELELTHERIOS KOSTANSCLAIRE SAWYERSTERRY WILDM A R C H 2 0 0 121

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NOut here on a sunny afternoon, theCrum seems roomy enough for the wholepeaceable kingdom plus a soccer field or twobesides. However, that’s just the luxuriousillusion of a Friday rambler, according toLarry Schall. From his perspective, as theperson who must find places for more andmore activities while preserving that rollinggreen open feeling, Larry says, “the Collegehas a very limited amount of land.”Why the continued pressing demands?For one thing, the nature of teaching haschanged, says Larry. Today’s curriculum putsmore emphasis on student projects, originalresearch, real fieldwork.That means Larry has tofind more lab space, moreroom for computers, andso on. Courses alsoexpand to keep up withthe times. “We’re notjust teaching French,German, and Latin; we’reteaching Chinese,” Larrypoints out. “There’s anenvironmental studiesconcentration.” Suchinnovations not onlyneed space themselves,but, because of their economics,they inch up studentenrollment. Duringthe past 50 years, thestudent body has grown50 percent, to about1,360.To Claire, the future of the woods is more than a matter of numbers.For years, she says, the College thought of the Crum as leftover,unbuildable land and therefore less important than theacreage at the top of the hill. It’s not just the educational potentialof the woods that concerns her; they have intrinsic natural value,like a rain forest or a coastal wetland. Their true educational valueis to teach environmental stewardship, she says, and Swarthmoreought to model that behavior.In recent years, she’s been encouraged by the willingness of theCollege to consider the well-being of the woods and watershedwhen planning new projects. The arboretum has followed theAndropogon recommendations “within the limits of ourresources,” but stormwater runoff and erosion are continuingproblems, she says.Yet in the next five years, the College will find room for a netexpansion of 60,000 square feet of the science facilities and add anew residence hall. “We don’t have any intention of building in thewoods,” Larry says. However, he’s getting low on open space, andthe idea of eventually moving some athletic fields to the far side ofthe creek might come up again someday.The nearness of the woodsallows at least a dozenfaculty members andhundreds of students todraw, paint, count birds,check water quality,and study plants in theCrum each year.If and when that happens, here’s one spotwhere the footbridge to the fields will notgo, Roger says. We’ve reached Skunk-Cabbage Hollow, familiar to generations asthe marshy spot along the woods route toMary Lyon. Janet Williams of the BiologyDepartment, who tracks avian matters in theCrum, has told Roger this is the best placeto see migrating birds resting up for thenext leg of their journey.Roger is fond of the spot for its trees. Hepoints across the creek toward a stand of theregionally rarest species known in the Crumso far: southern red oaks at the extremenorthern rim of theirrange. These may be thelast survivors of anancient stand. He alsopoints out a substantialtree with smooth graybark sporting occasionalclusters of nightmarishspines, each several incheslong with wicked zigzagsand multipleprongs. Nurseriesaround the country sellvarieties derived from aspineless mutant of thisnative honey locust tree,and many of Roger’s studentshave never met theuntamed version.The poor skunk-cabbagesthemselves have alot more charm thantheir name bespeaks, and I remember them fondly for their optimisticblooming in gloomy midwinter. For each improbable blossom,a pear-shaped outer covering, slightly glossy like dark streakedplastic, pokes several inches through the snow.Roger turns the conversation to the Crum as an outdoor laboratory.He’s accumulated quite a list of teachers who use this greatresource: Randall Exon as well as other studio art professors taketheir drawing and painting classes outside. Sara Hiebert ’79, whoteaches animal physiology and does much of her research on hummingbirds,finds many instructive creatures, including native rubythroatedhummingbirds. Professor of Biology Rachel Merz hasguided students in her biomechanics seminar through individualresearch projects on such marvels as the waterstriders that scuttlealong the top of the creek.I’ve talked to Janet and Tim Williams ’64, who revived theornithology program on campus, starting in 1976. With the burgeoningdevelopment in the region, “the Crum is extremely important,”Tim says. The bird checklist they hand out to studentsreports past sightings of bald eagles migrating and great hornedowls nesting. It’s the only place in the Swarthmore area they’ve22

seen pileated woodpeckers. These big redheads with pile-driverbeaks are not really the size of a pterodactyl but can still give acasual hiker quite a start on a lucky day.The creek itself contributes mightily to the bird quality of thewoods, Tim says. For example, he and Janet are able to show studentswood ducks, “probably the most spectacular of our nativeducks,” nesting in logs near the water’s edge. A really lucky classgets to see ducklings leave their log nest with free-fall plops intowater if the nest permits. A hard landing is OK too, Williamshastily assures me. “They bounce.”The less charming parts of the Crum also have their value,according to Colin Purrington, assistant professor of biology, whoteaches plant physiology. “It’s really wonderful to have a field siteright outside my laboratory, so I send my students there to learnthe fun of field biology. On good days, they return to the lab withstories featuring poison ivy, nettles, and mosquitoes,” Purringtonsays. “But, on bad days, they tell how their experiments were ruinedby foraging deer and flash floods, or both.” Purrington says he’llkeep sending them out there.The nearness of the woods makes fieldwork so much easier atSwarthmore than at schools that must transport students to woodsreserves at some distance from the campus. Those schools, by theway, include Bowdoin, Grinnell, Oberlin, Vassar, and Williams.As Roger and I make our way out of the woods, I think aboutthe alumni who have sent me such vivid memories of the Crum.(See the Bulletin Web site for a sample.) There’s extracurricular highjinx, some of it printable, but there are also bits of up-close learningthat have endured for years. I easily think of three people whoe-mailed me about botanizing in the Crum for some long-ago class.The most distant of these reminiscences (see Bulletin Web site),complete with Latin name and ecological context, seemed as wellpreserved as any botanical specimen—71 years later.As the light fades, Roger and I end up (where else) in the ScottAmphitheater. Roger’s own graduating class faced the dreadedrain for Commencement and the resulting folding chairs in thefield house. At the last minute, his class procession went AWOL enmasse, leaving family and friends in suspense indoors. The Class of1983 marched uphill into the soggy, drippy amphitheater, andPresident David Fraser proclaimed them graduates on the spot.Then they retired to dry ground for individual handshakes anddiplomas.Part of the power of any place comes from the strength withwhich it pulls at our heartstrings, and the Crum has pulled longand hard today. In the gathering darkness, it seems to me more asymbol than a place—a marker of some powerful aspect ofSwarthmore and my education there, where the head and the heartcame together, an experience, a memory, a walk in the woods.Then I remember something else about symbolism that speaksto the potential of the College and its precious Crum: “The bestway to teach stewardship,” Roger said, “is by example.” TSusan Milius ’75, a former Scott Foundation intern, writes for ScienceNews, a weekly news magazine about science and research.© RHODA MAURERThreats tothe CrumThreats to the Crum Woods include bothman-made problems and botanical invaders,including species from other parts of theworld—or even from different ecosystems inNorth America.• Common reed (Phragmites australis)—Very aggressive reed that forms clumpswith great feathery tan topsEROSION• English ivy(Hedera helix)—Smothering creeperthat does notstay on those iviedhalls. (Actually, ivyattacks buildings,too.) Volunteerswork to remove itfrom trees.• Erosion—Development oncampus createsTERRY WILDmore runoff, causingerosion on theslopes leading tothe creek. The gullybehind the LangMusic Building isnearly 6 feet deep.• Garlic-mustard(Alliaria petiolata)—Biennialmember of theGRAFFITImustard familywith coarse leavesand a spike of white flowers; monopolizeshabitats of such beloved spring favoritesas Dutchman’s britches and trilliums• Goutweed (Aegopodium podagraria)—Eurasian perennial herb that escapes gardensto form swaths of invasive, jaggededgedfoliage; leaving even a small piece ofroot when trying to dig out a patchrenews the invasion.• Graffiti—Painted on rocks and carvedon trees, graffiti and other forms of vandalismare age-old problems in thewoods.• Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum)—AnEast Asian member of thebuckwheat family that can shoot higherthan 10 feet• Lesser celandine (Ranunculus ficaria)—Eurasian buttercup with tubers thatsprout low glossy leaves in forbiddingpatches, well before native spring flowerstry to take advantage of early-seasonsunlight• Multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora)—Canclimb or grow freestanding into an airy,prickly shrub© RHODA MAURERNORWAY MAPLES• Norway maple(Acer platanoides)—Europeantree whose denseshade creates“Norways-only”zones. Removal isthe only way tofight the invader.—S.M.M A R C H 2 0 0 123

M o r e T h a n 1 5 S e c o n d so f F a m eBy Andrea HammerG A M E S H O W C O N T E S T A N T S W I N B I G —B E Y O N D M O N E Y A N D N A T I O N A L A T T E N T I O NS W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NMARIA MELIN/ABCF i n a l A n s w e r ?Question: Put these office supplies in the order that they were created,starting with the earliest:Answers: A. Xerox photocopy machineB. Post-it notesC. Pocket calculatorD. Liquid paperAs one of the “fastest-finger" contestants trying to land in the“hot seat" on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? William Berry ’73punched in “A-D-C-B" with confidence.“I ... sat back, pretty sure I had gotten it right and wondered ifanyone else had, too," he said. “When the results went up on theboard, and mine was the only name in green, it was an astoundingmoment—a moment of pure, unadulterated triumph and of excitementabout what might happen in the next half hour." The showwas taped for about two hours on Feb. 24, 2000, and was edited toabout 45 minutes for airing on March 1, 2000.Berry, who lives in Norcross, Ga., with wife Roberta Eck Berry’76 and their three sons, discovered the show by accident onenight. “After watching it for about 10 minutes, I thought, ‘This isright up my alley—I have to try to get on this.’" His family downloadedthe 30 pages of rules from the Web that evening.An avid lifetime reader who has edited approximately 30 booksduring the past 5 years, Berry continued to read a “wide range oftopics” after graduating from the College. “My favorite thing atSwarthmore was the great McCabe Library and its glorious openstacks. I gobbled down as much of its contents as I could and havebeen building on that foundation ever since," he said.With a “sticky memory" for “detailed knowledge"—a phrase thatBerry finds more accurate and complimentary than the dismissiveword “trivia"—the political science major tested his spongelikeabsorption of details. Berry started calling the Millionaire’s toll-freenumber nightly; after as many as 40 busy signals and redials, hepersisted and successfully connected with the show’s computer toanswer three questions correctly to qualify for the second round.“Making the nightly call became a fun game for the whole family.After each one, Tommy (then 10) and Richie (then 6) would yell,‘How’d you do?’ and I would say, ‘I got ’em all right!’ or ‘Aw, Imissed the third one,’ and we’d go over each question."Berry was determined to keep making nightly calls; after callingin 15 times and answering all 3 questions right 8 times, he made itthrough the random drawing into the second round twice. For thisBILL BERRY MADE IT TO THE “HOT SEAT" ON WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLION-AIRE? AND WON $64,000. HE SAID THAT REGIS PHILBIN TOOK EXTRA CARETO LEARN CONTESTANTS’ NAMES, WHICH HE FOUND “TOUCHING."24

ound, he was playing against 480 people for the 10 spots on ascheduled show. Berry now had to answer 5 questions correctly,each within 10 seconds.“The first question was an easy giveaway, but the last four werepretty tough," Berry recalled. “One was: ‘Put the following fourcountries in geographic order from north to south: A. Nicaragua;B. Belize; C. Panama; and D. Honduras.’ I was able to answer thisone only because I had, about two decades earlier, read a magazinearticle about Americans living in Belize that described the countryas ‘tucked up against Mexico,’ so I assumed it was the northernmostof the four, which it is. Another was: ‘Place the following fourtennis players in the order in which they firstwon the men’s singles Wimbledonchampionship, from earliestto latest: A. Pete Sampras;B. John Newcombe;C. Andre Agassi; andD. Arthur Ashe. Thetricky thing about thisone is that Agassi won theyear before Sampras started hisgreat run."Berry felt optimistic about all of his responses, so he wasn’tshocked when an associate producer called about an hour later withthe good news. As a stay-at-home father earning a part-time incomewhile his wife completed four years of full-time graduate study, Berrywas thrilled to tell his family about the Millionaire opportunity.In keeping with the free phone calls, all travel expenses for theNew York taping were paid by the producers. The contestantsarrived on the previous afternoon for a brief orientation at theshow’s rented hotel suite. At 8 a.m. the next morning, they werebussed a short distance to the studio, where they were alwaysaccompanied by security-conscious staff.After another orientation tour of the set, each of the contestantspracticed walking to and sitting in the hot seat—acutely aware thatonly two or three would have the actual experience, whereas theothers would leave with a souvenir T-shirt and $150 for expenses.Before the taping, the contestants also sat in their assigned semicircleseats at the edge of the set and played five practice games.“The questions were all quite easy, and I was always a second to asecond and a half behind the fastest contestants, which concernedme a bit," Berry said.With resolve just to focus on correct answers rather than speed,Berry developed a successful strategy. After winning the fastest-fingerquestion, he was given a few minutes to calm down from therush of adrenaline and emotion during a break. “All I remember ofthose first couple of minutes after shaking hands with Regis wasjumping up and down—literally—in the entranceway between theaudience risers, shouting, ‘I can’t believe it! A week ago, I waspunching numbers on the phone on my kitchen counter, and nowI’m going to be in the hot seat!’ All the while, a nice young showstaffer stood smiling at my side, repeating, in a very reassuringmanner, ‘Yes, yes, that’s right, you did great; you’re going to dogreat.’" Once in the “hot seat," Berry felt that he was in his “naturalarena." He was relaxed and comfortable, feeling none of the tensionof the fastest-finger rounds. “I felt like I was finally playing a gameon my home court; I never wanted to leave. I felt like Ted Williamsat the plate: You throw ’em; I’ll hit ’em." And Berry did exactly that,progressing to the $32,000 level by knowing that Dr. KennethCooper coined the word “aerobics" in 1968 and that Anna Sui andMichael Kors are fashion designers—not Nobel Prize winners, classicalmusicians, or modern dancers.Berry said: “The $64,000 question was tough for me; it askedwhat a hockey player named Craig MacTavish had been the lastNHL player to do. After burning my last two lifelines, I made aneducated guess that he was the last NHL player to play without ahelmet, which was correct. The $125,000 question asked how Dr.Doolittle got his ability to talk to the animals. I didn’t have anyidea, was out of lifelines, was facing three“ I NA L I F E T A K E N A S A W H O L E ,L U C K D O E S N ’ T M A T T E R . . . . I N T H E A R C O FA L O N G L I F E , T H E B R E A K S E V E N O U T , A N D Y O U RE N T I R E L I F E C O U R S E E N D S U P A P P R O X I M A T I N GR A T H E R C L O S E L Y W H A T Y O U A C T U A L L Y A R E .Y O U A R E W H A T Y O U A R E , N O T W H A TH A P P E N S T O Y O U . ”plausible answers, and, with$64,000 in hand, was quiterisk averse; so I retired onthat one."After the show, Berrymostly felt relief that hedid not “mess up" andhappiness that he had “comethrough" for his family. Now, lookingback, Berry’s Millionaire experience hasalso washed away any sense of previous “missed opportunities." Hesaid, “Every bad break I might have had in my life has been morethan outweighed by this; I end up in life being, to my surprise, avery lucky fellow. Even more, I see that in a life taken as a whole,luck doesn’t matter: I see that luck does happen—some good, somebad—but that in the arc of a long life, the breaks pretty much evenout, and your entire life course ends up approximating rather closelywhat you actually are. You are what you are, not what happens toyou."Since his appearance on the show, three strangers have recognizedhim. When he deposited the prize check, which will actuallyamount to about $40,000 after taxes, it caused a “minor uproar" atBerry’s bank. Now, the bank personnel smile and greet him byname. Every time he deposits a check, the funds are immediatelyavailable rather than the five days he previously had to wait for acheck to clear. “No huge deal but nice," he said.“For myself, it’s given me a boost in confidence. I wouldn’t saythat it’s justified my life, but it has, in a sense, justified my approachto life, which has involved spending a lot of time gathering knowledgefor no immediate, careerist purpose," added Berry, who ranksthis high point right behind his marriage and the birth of his threechildren.By appearing on the Millionaire show, Berry fulfilled a lifelongdream that was first inspired by Swarthmore’s College Bowl team.“One of the reasons I chose to attend Swarthmore was that itsCollege Bowl team, led by Nancy Bekavac ’69, was spectacularly goodin the 1968–69 season, winning five consecutive shows and retiringundefeated. I can still hear the moderator calling out, ‘Swarthmore,Bekavac!’ over and over again," Berry said.When he arrived at Swarthmore, Berry inquired about getting onthe College Bowl team and was disappointed to find out that theshow had gone off the air. “Thus, appearing on the Millionaire showallowed me to revisit and fulfill a desire so old that I had forgottenit had existed, which made the experience even sweeter than itwould otherwise have been."M A R C H 2 0 0 125

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NU n d e f e a t e dC h a m p i o n sQuestion: What is the most valuable in “When I was one andtwenty...."?Answer: “Guineas."Nancy Bekavac ’69, the captain of Swarthmore’s College Bowlteam, interrupted with the correct response. “I’d memorizedthe poem when I was about 10," she said, still reciting: “When Iwas one and twenty / I heard a wise man say / Give crowns andpounds and guineas / But not your heart away."Bekavac, now the president of Scripps College in Claremont,Calif., and a Swarthmore Board member, was an English major andaspiring poet at the time. “It always seemed to me that those questions,and some others, were practically designed for the way mymind works." Even though Bekavac initiallydid not want to try out for theCollege Bowl team,Professor Charles Raff,the coach, buggedher to do so byrepeatedly mentioningher overdueDescartes paper for hisModern Philosophy seminar.“I didn’t want to try out at all—I wassort of embarrassed that ‘general knowledge’ was alwaysmy strength, as opposed to knowing something that was useful."In high school, Bekavac tried to appear “normal" as a cheerleaderand yearbook editor. “Like all bright American teenagers, Ihad to find a way to be and a role for myself at a time—even in theDark Ages—when being ‘popular’ or athletic or, for girls, ‘cute’ wasgiven a much higher value than knowing who Belisarius was," shesaid of the Byzantine general who lived around 505 to 565.Bekavac’s experiences at Swarthmore, where women wereexpected to be intelligent and do their best, were pivotal—allowingher to come out from under cover. “Certainly, the experience ofmeeting real intellectuals who were women—Dean Susan Cobbs,Professor Susan Snyder, Professor Helen North, Professor NanKeohane—was a huge influence. Then, when I went to law school[at Yale, where she first met Bill and Hillary Clinton and was laterappointed chair of the Commission on White House Fellowships in1993] and found a profession where gobs of random knowledge ...could help in a case, I realized I’d found an outlet for lots of things.But not all," she said.“I wanted what I knew (bits of poetry, numbers theories, namesof Renaissance preachers and divines, the Krebs Cycle) to help medo something more important. It turns out that being president ofa small college is the thing—from breakfast talks on NCAA athleticsto African proverbs to interviews with biochemist candidates orFrench intellectual historians, my grab bag of data enlarges mysympathies and makes the day more interesting," said Bekavac,who was formerly the executive director of the Thomas J. WatsonFoundation. She was also a recipient of a $6,000 Watson fellowshipin 1969–70 that enabled her to travel the world—fromWestern Europe to Russia, Yugoslavia, Israel, Iran, Afghanistan,Pakistan, India, and Nepal—and write poetry. Bekavac also went toSouth Vietnam, where she worked for two months“ A TS W A R T H M O R E , W E P R E S U M E DT H A T L E A R N I N G T H I N G S A N D U S I N G T H E MW A S A G O O D T H I N G ; W E A L S O R E A L L Y W A N T E DE V E R Y O N E T O K N O W H O W G O O D S W A R T H M O R E W A S .T H I S S E E M E D A T E R R I F I C O P P O R T U N I T Y , P L U SW E G O T A F R E E G E N E R A L E L E C T R I C S M A L LA P P L I A N C E E V E R Y W E E K . ”as a stringer for Metromedia News andCatholic Welfare News.Even in the midst of the1960s turmoil of Vietnam,the civil rights movement,and the farmworkers labordispute, Bekavac and CollegeBowl teammates MichaelHattersley ’69, now a writer inProvincetown, Mass.; Michael Miller ’69, adeputy planning director for the state government in Napa, Calif.;and William Holt ’70, an orthopedic surgeon in Quincy, Ill., kepttheir perspective on what really mattered—despite their nationalexposure and success as five-time winners who retired undefeated.The College Bowl members decided to donate their $19,500 winningsto a scholarship fund in memory of then–President CourtneySmith, who died from a heart attack after a College sit-in—halfway through their five television appearances. “We thought ascholarship in his name was absolutely the right thing. We didn’tknow what to say to all those people who had loved him, so wehoped that the scholarship would express how we felt and helpsomeone else study at Swarthmore, carrying on the kind of learningin which he believed," said Bekavac, who gave a moving eulogy duringone of their College Bowl appearances. “Later, after he died, itcomforted me a little to know that he took pride in our team."Because of their televised College Bowl appearance, other teammatesalso received extensive attention from viewers. Hattersley,who is still in touch with Bekavac, “received an astonishing amountof mail," ranging from marriage proposals to haircut offers, he said.“Apparently, I was the first male to appear on the College Bowl withhair below my ears."Hattersley recalled that Bekavac was chosen team captain byNANCY BEKAVAC WAS THE CAPTAIN OF SWARTHMORE’S 1969 COLLEGE BOWLTEAM. “MY JOB WAS TO ANSWER AS MANY TOSS-UPS AS I COULD AND, ONTHE MULTIPART QUESTIONS, HUDDLE WITH MY TEAMMATES TO FORMULATETHE BEST ANSWER.... WE WERE REALLY ANXIOUS TO WIN, SO WE COOPERATEDLIKE PISTONS," SHE SAID.COURTESY OF FRIENDS HISTORICAL LIBRARY26

lot—“the right choice, by chance, and a born leader." Bekavac, whoviewed the experience with “comic relief," said: “I was glad that mytalent for reading and retaining odd and obscure facts turned intosomething useful at what was a fairly critical time of my life.Looking back, it built confidence, exposed me to a certain level ofpressure, encouraged teamwork, and was a lark on the whole. In thesmallest of ways, it helped both my hometown and high school,and it helped the college I loved."L i f eQ u e s t i o n sAnswer: I wanted the most people possibleto win.Question: Why did you bet to tie, attemptingto enable two champions to return for thenext round?Cigus Vanni ’72 caused a stir as a five-timeJeopardy winner in 1988, when fellow contestants and viewersnoticed his altruistic betting style. Vanni, who had just leftSwarthmore after working as assistant dean under Janet Dickersonfrom 1984 to 1988, attributed his desire to have others also win tohis Catholic-Quaker education.As an English and psychology major, Vanni’s thirst for knowledgewas stimulated by the “extraordinarily brightand curious community" on campus.“I consequently found my naturaldrive to know challengedand affirmeddaily by classmates, professors,and staff.Having been expected as astudent to be thorough, wellinformed, and current in my work, itwas not difficult to transfer these qualities over togame show preparation—especially in light of the good fit betweena liberal arts education and the Jeopardy range of categories."In the late summer of 1988, Vanni went to Southern Californiato try out for Jeopardy. He entered the studio with 150 others andtook a 50-question “general knowledge" test. He passed with 8others, ultimately trusting his long-term memory to avoid “displacingsecure knowledge by cramming. I read a lot ... and I am fortunateto have a good memory for what I encounter," Vanni said.“Contestant coordinators were clearly looking for panache andspirit at that point.... I had a great time telling jokes in the audition—Ithink that was one of the reasons they took me for theshow. But on the set itself in the late ’80s, there was a definitesense of highbrow decorum to be followed."So Vanni left the humor to Trebek, focusing on giving correctresponses during each round. Finally drawing on his Civil Warknowledge, Vanni hit the jackpot on the final Jeopardy answer:“These two Northern states were invaded by the ConfederateArmy." He bet $4,000 of $4,800 in winnings on his question:“What are Pennsylvania and Maryland?" The Canadian opponentdidn’t know this bit of American history, and Vanni won.Now director of student personnel services at Bishop EustacePreparatory School in Pennsauken, N.J., Vanni also worked as apart-time admissions counselor at Swarthmore in the early 1990s.He had previously taught classes in counseling at the College from1981 to 1984 and added a course in childhood psychopathologythat was cross-listed in the Education andPsychology departments.As a five-time winner on Jeopardy, Vanniqualified for the November 1989 “Tournamentof Champions” (TC), with potentialprize money of $100,000. He won the firstgame, placing him in the semifinals.“The TCwas exhilarating and humbling,” Vanni said.He was eliminated in the second round—receiving $5,000 in addition to his previous$40,400, which actually amounted to$24,000 after taxes.“I really enjoyed the experience of playingthe game, meeting some ... people from all around the country, gettingsome time in Southern California—and honestly, the fact thatI won was a secondary but not unimportant issue,” he said.“It did not change my life," Vanni added. “I also [think] thateven if the dollar amount were substantially higher, I would not besignificantly altered.... I have always lived simply—used cars, recycledeverything, thrift store purchases, no clothing bought atretail—and I actually wonder what a big infusion of“ I TW A S G R E A T F U N T O B ER E C O G N I Z E D I N T H E A C M E P A R K I N G L O T A N DI N T H E E L E M E N T A R Y A N D H I G H S C H O O L S W H E R EI W O R K E D . B U T C E R T A I N L Y I T D I D N O T C H A N G E —A N D S H O U L D N O T H A V E C H A N G E D —M Y L I F E . "COURTESY OF CIGUS VANNImoney would do for me—or to me."After his Jeopardy appearance,Vanni put some ofthe money into a CD forhis son, who was 1 yearold at the time; purchaseda car; and boughtsome professional books inpsychology and education. Vanni hasalso established “a wild and wonderful relationshipwith some of the guys at my local Acme meat department andcashier corps who were trivia buffs," he said.His Jeopardy experience has been a “real jump-start to some ofthe relationships I have with my present students, who think it isreally cool that I have accomplished such a feat," Vanni added. Inaddition, a few old friends also got back in touch with him after histelevision appearance. “Among the people who re-established contactwere a couple of Swat buddies, and one of those restored relationshipscontinues to this day." TCIGUS VANNI, WHO RECEIVED THE SWARTHMORE WOMEN’S ATHLETIC ASSOCI-ATION NICEST LEGS ON THE FIELD AWARD FOR THREE CONSECUTIVE YEARS,APPEARED ON JEOPARDY WITH ALEX TREBEK. STEFANIE WULFESTIEG ’92,NOW A NEW MEDIA ACCOUNT MANAGER AT NETDECISIONS IN LONDON, ANDDAVID GRAHAM ’92, AN AUTOMOTIVE CONSULTANT AT A.T. KEARNEY INSOUTHFIELD, MICH., ARE TWO OF THE OTHER ALUMNI WHO HAVE APPEAREDON THE GAME SHOW.M A R C H 2 0 0 127

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NSTEVEN GOLDBLATT ʼ6728

Every aspiring scientist learns thatthe path of discovery is paved withopposition—especially when an assumption,belief, or notion that everyonethinks of as true is proven false.In our hi-tech world, much of thisopposition remains comfortably in thepast. No religious leader has forced amodern-day Galileo to recant hisfindings, and no 20th-century scientistsuffered like the monk Giordano Bruno,who, in 1600, was burned at the stakefor suggesting that the universe couldcontain an infinite number of stars withplanets whirling around them.But there remains within the field ofscientific endeavor a risk almost asperilous, whose consequences can havedevastating results: the possibility that,after years of searching for—andthinking you have found—the truth,a colleague comes to you with resultsthat question your findings.It is almost ironic that just such aseries of events occurred almost 40 yearsago at Swarthmore in the Department ofAstronomy.Barnard’sW bbleW a s i t a p l a n e t ?s a i dP r o b a b l y ,l e g e n d a r yS w a r t h m o r ea s t r o n o m e rP e t e r V a n d e K a m p .L i k e l y n o t ,s a i d h i s c h o s e ns u c c e s s o r ,W u l f f H e i n t z .By Bill KentWhat happened at Swarthmorebetween Peter Van de Kampand Wulff Heintz is very significantwithin the astronomical worldbecause it underscored the unpredictableconsequences inherent in all serious research,”says Paul Halpern, a physics professorat the University of the Sciences inPhiladelphia, who wrote about the twoSwarthmore astronomers in his 1997 bookThe Quest for Alien Planets: Exploring WorldsOutside the Solar System. “Stories like thishappen often in science, but you don’t hearabout them much because, let’s face it, peoplelike to hear about the upside in makingimportant discoveries, not the downside.”Indeed, the scientific world respondedwith nothing but praise in 1963, when Vande Kamp, now deceased but then a professorof astronomy and director of theSproul Observatory, announced that hehad sufficient evidence to suggest that hehad found a planetary system beyond thesolar system.Though scientists and science fictionwriters had assumed that other such systemsexisted in the universe, the actual discoveryof one was like finding astronomy’sHoly Grail. The 1963 announcement madeVan de Kamp, already a beloved figure onthe Swarthmore campus, one of the mostfamous astronomers in the world.Sarah Lippincott Zimmerman ’42, professoremerita of astronomy and directoremerita of the Sproul Observatory, whowas Van de Kamp’s research associate andlater director of the Sproul Observatory,remembers him as “a charming man, interestedin a great many things outside ofastronomy.”A native of Holland, Van de Kamp cameto Swarthmore in 1937 and rapidly establishedhimself as a witty, charismatic personalityand virtuoso pianist. He conductedthe College orchestra in the 1950s andhosted “Charlie Chaplin Seminars” inClothier Hall, where he showed films fromhis collection of Chaplin silent comedieswhile performing the piano accompaniment.A fan of both classical and Americanpopular music, he composed tunes that henamed after the stars he observed. Musicalsatirist Peter Schickele ’57 composed “TheEasy Goin’ P.V.D.K. Ever-Lovin’ Rag” forVan de Kamp’s 70th birthday. During hisM A R C H 2 0 0 129

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I Nlife, many accolades included the namingof an asteroid for Van de Kamp in 1980 bythe International Astronomical Union aswell as several professional honors.“He was this wonderfully energeticDutchman,” remembers John Gaustad, theEdward Hicks Magill Professor Emeritus ofAstronomy. “He was well known in thefield for the work he’d done at Swarthmorein astrometry—the precise measurement ofthe positions of stars—all of which wasexcellent and quite reliable. But he wasbest known for the work he did onBarnard’s Star.”The star Van de Kamp chose for hisplanetary quest was a rather faint red dwarfcalled Barnard’s Star after the astronomerwho first charted its rapid motion, EdwardBarnard. It is a mere six light years awayfrom Earth and had been previously photographedat the Sproul Observatory as farback as 1916. Beginning in 1937, Van deKamp took tens of thousands of photographicplate exposuresof Barnard’sStar as it movedacross the night sky.He studied theseimages, looking for asmall perturbation,known as a “wobble,”in the star’s path.Such a deviationcould be caused bythe gravitational pullof one or more planetsorbiting aroundthe star.In 1963, after 26years of research, Vande Kamp announcedthat a planet aboutone-and-a-half timesthe mass of Jupiterwas orbiting aroundBarnard’s Star. Afterannouncing his discovery,Van de Kamp,by then 64, went on an internationalsearch for a scientist who would teachmore astronomy courses at Swarthmore,continue the observatory’s long-term astrometricmission of mapping stars, and furtherhis work on Barnard’s Star.The successor Van de Kamp found,Professor Emeritus of Astronomy WulffHeintz, was almost his opposite in styleT H E S C I E N T I F I C W O R L DR E S P O N D E D W I T HN O T H I N G B U T P R A I S EI N 1 9 6 3 , W H E NP E T E R V A N D E K A M PA N N O U N C E D T H A TH E H A D F O U N DA P L A N E T A R Y S Y S T E MB E Y O N D T H E S O L A R S Y S T E M .FRIENDS HISTORICAL LIBRARYVAN DE KAMP ANNOUNCED IN 1963 THATMEASUREMENTS TAKEN OVER NEARLY 30 YEARS ATSPROUL OBSERVATORY SHOWED A “WOBBLE” INTHE PATH OF BARNARD’S STAR THAT COULD BECAUSED ONLY BY AN UNSEEN PLANET.and temperament. According to Gaustad,Van de Kamp thought that the quiet, seriousGerman research astronomer wouldfaithfully carry on his work. “He neverexpected the criticism he later got fromHeintz, which he considered very disloyal.”Born in Würzburg, Germany, in 1930,Heintz had an early interest in math andscience. “I used to love the blackouts duringthe bombing runs [of World War II]because they made it so much easier to seethe stars.”He also developed a profound skepticismwhen his father, a physician, was persecutedby the Nazis merely because he wasemployed in a Jewish-run hospital. “TheNazis were liars and bullies. I learned toquestion everything until I could besure of the truth with my own eyesand my own mind.”At the University of Munich,Heintz became well known within thefield for his work in astrometry, especiallyin the identification of doublestars (to date, he has found some900 of them and has done significantwork in the identificationof barely luminous“brown dwarf”stars). He wasalso eager toteach coursesin cosmology—the study of theorigin of the universe—andotheraspects of astronomy thathad not been offered before.“It seemed a perfect fitfor me,” recalls Heintz,whose office is now in theobservatory’s former darkroom.“I had my ownstudies that I could pursue.I was looking forwardto teaching in America.All of this I was very excited to do.”Heintz came with his family to Swarthmorein 1967, where, he says, he and Vande Kamp were close friends until 1970,when Van de Kamp asked him to continuethe Barnard’s Star observations and gathermore data.Heintz recalls that Van de Kamp keptthe evaluation of the photographic plateslargely to himself, but the youngerastronomer “suspected there might be a30

MARTIN NATVIGproblem with the results.”Heintz found minute variations in thesensitivity of the plates, causing the sizesof the images of Barnard’s Star and thestars with which Barnard’s was being comparedto vary slightly. He also questionedthe precomputer mathematical methodsthat Van de Kamp had used to interpret hisdata—methods that Heintz claims were“too crude to remove small optical imagingerrors.” Given that the margin of error indetermining a deviation was very narrow—within 2 microns (far less than the diameterof a hair)—was it possible to concludethat a wobble existed at all?Heintz began to duplicate Van deKamp’s comparison studies and foundother variations in plates taken in the1940s and 1950s. He noted that, in 1949,the telescope had been disassembled andcleaned. Could the changes in the positionsof the lenses make it more likely for awobble to appear? In 1973, an astronomervisiting the Sproul Observatory showedthat, in fact, this could have occurred.The most embarrassing challenge didnot come from Swarthmore but from otherobservatories, which were following scientificcustom by attempting to duplicate Vande Kamp’s work. After a decade of observingBarnard’s Star, none of these observatoriesfound evidence of a planet.When Heintz mentioned to Van deKamp that he, too, was having difficultyduplicating Van de Kamp’s work, “I wasdenounced among his friends—includingtop administrators—as a nasty characterand probably mentally disturbed,” HeintzV A N D E K A M P T H O U G H TT H A T T H E Q U I E T , S E R I O U SG E R M A N R E S E A R C HA S T R O N O M E RW O U L D F A I T H F U L L Y C A R R YO N H I S W O R K .H E N E V E R E X P E C T E DT H E C R I T I C I S M H E L A T E RG O T F R O M H E I N T Z ,W H I C H H E C O N S I D E R E DV E R Y D I S L O Y A L .“I CAN TELL YOU,” SAYS HEINTZ (SHOWNABOVE IN 1979), “I DID NOT WANT TOEMBARRASS A COLLEAGUE. I WAS NOTCOMFORTABLE AS THE [BEARER] OF BAD NEWS.THERE WAS NO SATISFACTION IN IT.I TOOK REFUGE IN MY OWN STUDIES, IN MYTEACHING, AND WITH THE TELESCOPE. IT’SSTILL QUITE A USEFUL INSTRUMENT.”THE 24-INCH REFRACTOR IS NOW USEDFOR VARIABLE STAR RESEARCH.remembers. “I was told that I should donothing about it, and that his observationswould eventually be confirmed. This Icould not believe because, with the variationsin the exposures alone, there did notseem to be enough to make any conclusioneither way.”Any friendship between the two scientistsended when Heintz published the firstof a series of scientific papers on the subjectin 1976. The papers shed the first publicdoubts on the accuracy of Van de Kamp’smethods.“It was the interpretation that was atfault,” said Gaustad. “The effect hethought he saw was so small that it couldnot be distinguished from the ‘noise’ in themeasurement.“Van de Kamp felt betrayed. For theremainder of his life, he insisted that hisresults were correct and that he had founda planet. It’s important to keep in mind,though, that, in terms of the rest of Van deKamp’s career, he did very important, accuratework, and that the field of astronomyis richer for it.”Still believing that he would one day bevindicated, Van de Kamp returned toHolland in 1981. He died in 1995, a yearafter Heintz published his final word onthe subject. After extensive remeasurementsof the Sproul plates and comparisonwith other telescopes’ results, Heintzdeclared in the Astronomical Journal thatVan de Kamp had been wrong.“Nowadays, when you hear aboutBarnard’s Star,” adds author Halpern, “it’salmost like a warning that things that can’tbe wrong just might be wrong. In retrospect,what happened at Swarthmore tooksome of the sting out of admitting a mistake.”In 1991, when British astronomerAndrew Lyne said—in error—that he’ddiscovered a planet orbiting a pulsar, heannounced his mistake at a meeting of theAmerican Astronomical Society soon afterwardand was given a standing ovation.“What I did,” Heintz says, “was showthat you can’t use photography to look forplanets.”In the past decade, using entirely differentmethods and instruments, scientistshave found some 30 stars with planetsorbiting around them. TJournalist and novelist Bill Kent is a frequentcontributor to the Bulletin.M A R C H 2 0 0 131

COURTESY OF ELIOT ASINOFN i n t h M a n O u tOU T S I D E R S , O U T C A S T S , A N DE L I O T A S I N O F ’ 4 0By Jeffrey LottS W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NOccasionally, you discover a newauthor, and you just can’t getenough. You read everything youcan get your hands on, putting down onebook and immediately picking up the next.You start seeing into a writer’s mind—apart from the subjects and characters inhis books—and you want to know more.I came across the books of Eliot Asinofabout a year ago. A Florida newspaper ran abrief profile on the publication of his latestbook, Off-Season, a novel about a majorleague baseball star who returns to hishometown to find—and fight—racism andcorruption. As a baseball fan, I wanted toread the novel, especially when I learnedthat Asinof had previously written EightMen Out, a baseball book I had read andadmired some years ago.According to Swarthmore’s computerizedlibrary catalog, a dozen of Asinof’sbooks were in McCabe Library. Who wasthis person with 6 novels and 8 nonfictionworks to his credit? I started reading, and,before long, I knew I wanted to meet him.We talked last summer in a dark SixthAvenue bar in New York. Tuckedunder his arm, neatly boxed and tied, wasthe original manuscript of Eight Men Out,his best-known and most successful book.As he showed this treasure to me, Asinofsaid that his next appointment was with anauctioneer of sports memorabilia whomight buy it. But now there was time for abrandy and soda and a couple hours ofconversation about his life and work.We swapped baseball stories. I knew hewas a New York–born Yankee fan; althoughI’m a Yankee hater from way back, I admiredthe current World Champs from theBronx. Only three of Asinof’s books areabout baseball, but I knew that playing thesport was how he defined himself as ayouth.32

“When I grew up, it was the game,” hesaid. “Every kid had a glove.” He spent hisearly years playing pickup games in NewYork’s Central Park and later captainedboth his high school team on Long Islandand the Swarthmore squad. At Swarthmore(where he transferred after a year atWilliams), he encountered George Earnshaw,former Philadelphia Athletics starpitcher, then fire chief in the Ville.“In his fading years as a ballplayer,”said Asinof, “George threw half-speed battingpractice for the College team to keephis arm in shape, and on Sundays he wentup to New York to pitch for the BrooklynBushwicks for $200 a week. This is a guywho had pitched to Ruth and Gehrig, and IONLY THREE OF ELIOT ASINOF’S (LEFT)14 BOOKS ARE ABOUT BASEBALL, BUT THESPORT PLAYED A CENTRAL ROLE IN HISYOUTH. AFTER SWARTHMORE, HE PLAYED INTHE MINOR LEAGUES FOR TWO YEARS. HE’SIN THE FRONT ROW, SECOND FROM LEFT, INTHE PHOTO (OPPOSITE PAGE) OF THE 1940ST. ALBANS [VT.] GIANTS. ASINOF’S BEST-KNOWN BOOK IS EIGHT MEN OUT, THESTORY OF THE 1919 “BLACK SOX” SCAN-DAL, LATER THE SUBJECT OF A FILM.ELI WALLACH“I PLAYED FOR JOY, NOT FOR AMBITION. THE LONG, BATTERINGBUS RIDES AFTER NIGHT GAMES, THE INADEQUATE LIGHTS,GRUBBY LOCKER ROOMS, SLEAZY HOTEL ROOMS, TERRIBLE FOOD, LOWPAY ... NOTHING BOTHERED US, FOR WE WERE PLAYING BALL.”used to challenge him to throw me his beststuff. I could hit it all right—until he’dsmile and fool me with an off-speed breakingpitch.”Asinof couldn’t get enough baseball andsoon found himself playing twilight ball fora semipro team in Chester, Pa., assumingthe name Johnny Elliott to protect his collegeeligibility. Earnshaw thought theyoung first baseman might have the talentto play professionally after college andarranged for him to play summer ball in aNew York–New England college leaguesponsored by the Big Leagues. There hebecame friends with Mickey Rutner, a solidplayer who would later get a shot at themajors—and who became the main characterin Man on Spikes, Asinof’s first book(1955).The day he graduated from Swarthmorewith Honors in history, Asinof signed acontract with the Philadelphia Phillies. Heplayed two seasons in the minor leaguesbefore joining the Army after the start ofWorld War II.“I played for joy, not for ambition,” helater wrote. “The long, battering bus ridesafter night games, the inadequate lights,grubby locker rooms, sleazy hotel rooms,terrible food, low pay ... nothing botheredus, for we were playing ball.”Along the way, there were cruel, despoticmanagers and anti-Semitic obscenitiesfrom opposing players and fans. “It was, inmany ways, a hate-ridden, competitiveworld, but in the end, the game was thething, the only thing.... Baseball was playedwith a bat and a glove, not with a mouth.”His former teammate Mickey Rutner hadtaught him how to cope:“‘F— ’em all, big and small,’ Mickeyused to say. This became the philosophicalpremise of my existence. Sometimes, youface situations where you are at the mercyof forces beyond your control, and if you tryto reach a logical solution, you’re gonna gocrazy. So how do you save your ass? Say,‘F— ’em all, big and small.’ It gives you asense of liberation.”Much of Asinof’s work is about peoplewho find themselves in situations likethis, who struggle to hold on to their dignityand power.There’s Laurence Blutcher (People vs.Blutcher, 1970), a young black man whoseentanglements with a brutal and corruptcriminal justice system become a poignantindictment of racism in America. There areCraig Badiali and Joan Fox (Craig and Joan,1971), two New Jersey teens who commitsuicide in 1969 as a protest against theVietnam War—kids whose lives in anuptight suburb seem hopeless and beyondtheir control. The Fox Is Crazy Too (1976) isa portrait of Garrett Trapnell, a bank robberand con man who manipulates the insanitydefense—which Asinof abhors—to evadeprison.It’s the same in Asinof’s fiction. Say ItAin’t So, Gordon Littlefield (1977) recasts theBlack Sox story as a dark but zany plot tothrow the Super Bowl. The hero of his latestnovel, Off Season, is a major-leagueballplayer named John Cagle who confrontssome demons from his past and recognizesthat certain responsibilities go with hisfame and fortune.And then there’s “Shoeless” Joe Jackson.Some say that Eight Men Out is the bestbaseball book ever written. As every fanknows, eight members of the 1919 ChicagoWhite Sox took small-time money frombig-time gamblers to throw that fall’s WorldM A R C H 2 0 0 133

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NSeries. When widespread rumors of a fixled to an investigation, the suspected playerswere hauled before a grand jury, wherethey confessed. All were banned from baseballby the team owners and their newlyappointed enforcer, Commissioner KenesawMountain Landis. Neither the gamblerswho ruined the players’ careers northe owners who manipulated the scandalto further enslave their chattels were evermade to account for their actions.Eight Men Out is the definitive book onthe scandal. Asinof’s sympathy lies withthe players—men whose livelihood wascontrolled lock, stock, and jockstrap by theteam owners and who became pawns in abig-money game. Joe Jackson is a particularhero, whereas the venal owners and theirracetrack friends get rough treatment. Anuneducated millhand—and prodigiousslugger—from South Carolina, the vulnerableJackson was first seduced by the conspiratorsand later forced to sign a confessionthat he couldn’t even read. Jacksontried for years to return to baseball, playingat times under assumed names. But theban held, and a promising career was lost.For an author, such a book should besomething to celebrate, but ultimately ittaught Asinof some tough lessons aboutbeing a pawn himself. From the time hefirst became interested in the story, itseemed like the fix was in.The Black Sox story was almostuntouchable even before he tackled it. Asinof’sfirst attempt came in a play he wascommissioned to write for live television in1960, but the production was killed beforeairtime by its sponsor, the DuPont Company.Apparently, then–Commissioner ofBaseball Ford Frick told company and networkexecutives that airing the Black Soxstory would be “bad for baseball.”A New York Times report about Frick’scensorship led to a call from an editor atPutnam’s—and a book contract for Asinof.He set about reading everything that hadbeen written about the scandal and coveredthousands of miles tracking down survivingmembers of the team, many of whomwould not talk about the 1919 WorldSeries. When it was published in 1963,baseball fans embraced Eight Men Out, andit sold steadily—though not spectacularly—inthe years that followed. AsinofBETTMANN/CORBISIN EIGHT MEN OUT,ASINOF’S SYMPATHYLIES WITH THEPLAYERS—MENWHOSE LIVELIHOODSWERE CONTROLLEDLOCK, STOCK, ANDJOCKSTRAP BYTHE TEAM OWNERS.optioned the movie rights several times.But surprisingly for such a dramatic story,no film was made for 25 years.By the mid-1970s, after Asinof had writtena half-dozen other books, he learnedthat David Susskind’s Talent Associateswas readying a show about the Black Soxfor NBC-TV. Because he could not claim acopyright on history—historical events areconsidered to be in the public domain—Asinof says he thought little of theSusskind project until he also learned thatSusskind had told the program’s sponsor,IBM, that Talent Associates owned therights to Eight Men Out.Asinof strenuously objected. He didn’teven own the rights himself, he told IBM;they were then held by a California producer—andcertainly not by David Susskind.To its credit, IBM ordered NBC to stop theproject, whereupon Susskind slapped Asinofwith a $1.75 million lawsuit. It tookmany months—and many thousands ofdollars—to defend himself, but Asinoffinally prevailed. Later, he wrote an angrybook about the Susskind affair, BleedingBetween the Lines (1979).Eight Men Out languished after that, atainted property. The rights returned toAsinof, and he managed to option themagain in the early 1980s for $30,000.“Not only had I not made any moneyon the book,” he says, “but defendingmyself had cost me money and sapped myenergies as a writer. At the time, [the$30,000] was a lot of money—a year’sincome—and it got me out of hock.”But, as Asinof points out, a piece ofwriting is “just like a painting. A paintersells his work for $100, and every guy whoowns it after that sells it for more. Therights I sold for $30,000 ended up beingbought by Orion Pictures for $125,000.”So it’s no surprise that, according toAsinof, his first encounter on the set withindependent filmmaker John Sayles wentlike this:“You’re on the rumor mill, El,” saidSayles. “Everybody in the movie businessASINOF WROTE ABOUT “SHOELESS” JOE JACKSON(LEFT) IN EIGHT MEN OUT, HIS BEST-KNOWNBOOK. FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER GEORGEEARNSHAW (RIGHT) THREW BATTING PRACTICE TOSWARTHMORE PLAYERS IN THE LATE 1930S.34

aseball becomes the apotheosis of segregationand race war, with one all-whiteleague and one all-black:All games, then, will be a racial clash.I have a dream, Roomie, of high-flyingspikes, of pitchers decking hitters, ofbody-crashing drama at home plate, ofviolence and rumors of violence.... Baseballwill become the heart and soul ofracist America, bringing in crowdsbeyond the greediest club owner’sdream. The World Series, then, wouldbe a modern reprise of the Civil Waritself. I have a dream, Roomie, where thewrote. “No one ever blamed anyone fortaking the money…. It was a phrase thatcould wear a man down, whittling away athis resistance until the wound was raw, thespirit infected.... It might take a man half alifetime to develop his powers to resist—and less than an hour to sell them out.”Eliot Asinof hasn’t bought in, and hehasn’t sold out. An upper-middle classkid, a top student, a star athlete, he was byhis own admission a “straight arrow.”When he and some friends got caughtpainting a red “S” on a Haverford Collegebuilding on the eve of a football game, heBETTMANN/CORBISHIS BOOKS ARE PEOPLED WITH OUTSIDERS,OUTLAWS, AND OUTCASTS—AND HE DOESN’TMIND IF YOU THINK OF HIM THAT WAY TOO.thinks you’re a troublemaker.”“Why did you hire me, then?”shot backAsinof.“I hired you because of it.”Sayles and Asinof became close friends.Asinof calls Sayles’ film “a reaffirmation.Suddenly, here comes a first-class guy whosurrounds himself with first-class people.He knew what the movie business is like.Making that picture was a lot of fun at atime when I had a tendency to become cynical.”But Asinof’s problems weren’t over. Themovie should have provided a goldenopportunity for the first best-seller of Asinof’s40-year writing career. “But on theday the film opened,” he says, “there wasnot one copy of my book in the City ofNew York,” nor anywhere else in the country.Despite months of advance notice fromAsinof about the movie, his publisher neglectedto bring out a new printing to coincidewith the release of the film.In many of Asinof’s books, you find aspeech or passage that is clearly in theauthor’s voice—usually a cry againsthypocrisy or injustice. In Off-Season, protagonistCagle’s black roommate, Corky,makes an angry “I Have a Dream” speechabout the future of race in America. In thisballplayer’s dream—a nightmare really—bullshit hypocrisy of America’s quest forracial amity will once and for all beabandoned.“Is this you? Your voice in Corky’sspeech?” I asked Asinof. “Do you thinkthat the quest for racial amity is false?”“Yes,” he said quietly. “That’s me. That’sabsolutely me.... Any black will tell youthat—except those who buy in to the whiteworld. The big leaguers now, they’re allbuying in.”“But you have to understand,” he says.“Part of my education as a writer was theimpact of all my lefty friends. In [the1930s], that was respectable, at least untilthe McCarthy period, when they all went tojail or got blacklisted. You identified withthe outsider because that’s what you are—an alienated character in American society.It still exists in my work. In a world of peoplewho buy in, I’m always trying to resist.”Asinof spent the late 1950s in Hollywood,married for a time to Marlon Brando’ssister, but returned to New York in1959. “I got out of LA by luck,” he says. Itreminded me of a passage about the filmindustry from his book Bleeding Between theLines.“Take the money. Take the money.Unquestionably, it was the sine qua non ofsurvival in the entertainment business,” hesays Dean Everett Hunt was almost inshock to find him among the miscreants.But Swarthmore changed him. Hisbooks are peopled with outsiders, outlaws,and outcasts—and he doesn’t mind if youthink of him that way too. He’s the selfstyledninth man out, the uncompromisingtough guy of a professional ballplayer, completewith the “F— ’em all” attitude. Yet inhis work, there’s intelligence and compassion;he celebrates the individual’s abilityto fight life’s battles, to stand in against thehigh, tight fastball.He remembers exactly when the lightwent on in his head—the crucial momentin his education—in a seminar with legendaryProfessor of Economics ClareWilcox.“One night we went to his home for theseminar, and he said, ‘Leave all your stuffhere—we’re going into Philadelphia.’Seven or eight of us drove into Philadelphiato see John Steinbeck’s movie Grapesof Wrath.“Then we came back to his house—itwas close to midnight, but his wife madetea and served cookies—and he spent thenext hour talking about the economics ofGrapes of Wrath. I learned a lot about whatAmerica was like that night.“I’ve never forgotten that,” he saidquietly. TM A R C H 2 0 0 135

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I N A L U M N I D I G E S TC o n n e c t i o n sS W A R T H M O R E G A T H E R I N G S N E A R Y O UU P C O M I N GE V E N T SMetro DC/Baltimore: This Connectionwill join Christmas in April in Washington,D.C., to renovate the house of anelderly or disabled homeowner in thedistrict on Saturday, April 28. Volunteerswith all levels of experience and skill areneeded. If you would like to help thisyear, contact Kay Gottesman ’60 at (301)530-5504,or e-mail kgottes@attglobal.net.Philadelphia: Supper Club le Swarthmore—Aninformal monthly meeting ofour Philadelphia alumni for a variety oftasty cuisine and friendly social interchange.The group usually meets on aWednesday evening after 6 p.m.Everyone is welcome. Check theAlumni Events Web site for thedate and time of the next supper,or contact Connection chairsBruce Gould ’54 at brucegould54@-hotmail.com or (215) 563-4811 orJim Moskowitz ’88 at (610) 604-0669. If you sign up for the PhiladelphiaConnection listserv, youwill be informed electronically.Pittsburgh: Join Connectionmembers at the HYP PittsburghClub, 619 William Penn Place,Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on thethird Thursday of the month foran informal lunch. These “ThirdThursday Luncheons" are open toall Swarthmore College alumni,friends, and family and offer anopportunity to meet new peopleand establish new friendships.Contact Melissa Kelley ’80 at kelleyma@bipc.comor (412) 562-1593 for more information.R E C E N TE V E N T SCharlottesville: The first event of thenew Charlottesville Connection tookplace in February at the CharlottesvilleIce Park, followed by a warm-up at a localsoup spot. Connection chair AlisonMeloy ’94 wants to plan a warm-weatherevent and is looking for ideas and volunteersto help. If you are interested, contactAlison at ameloy@virginia.edu or(804) 974-9506. The CharlottesvilleConnection has a new listserv; go tohttp://listservs.swarthmore.edu, andsign up. We can keep you posted onupcoming events electronically.Chicago: Alumni and parents enjoyed aunique look behind the scenes at TheLyric Opera of Chicago—one of theworld's leading opera companies—arranged by Connection Chair MarileeRoberg ’73. The group visited thewardrobe area, the wigs and makeupdepartments, the scenery-handling facility,the armory and prop rooms, theorchestra pit, and the main stage.DON SWEARER, PROFESSOR OF RELIGION, ENTERTAINED SWARTH-MORE ALUMS WHO ARE ATTENDING THE HARVARD DIVINITY SCHOOL,WHERE HE IS TEACHING WHILE ON LEAVE. SWATTIES INCLUDED NANCYBENSON-NICOL ’98, JESSICA MCFARLAND ’98, AND OTAVIA PROPPER ’00(BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT); CAMERON DAVID WARNER ’97, DON SWEARER,SARAH AZARANSKY ’97, AND GREGORY WHITE ’93 (TOP, LEFT TO RIGHT).Iowa: Melissa Edwards Mohammed ’90made arrangements for alums and theirchildren/grandchildren to visit the IowaChildren’s Museum in January.Philadelphia: This Connection is alwayson the go. Co-Chairs Bruce Gould ’54and Jim Moskowitz ’88 organized severalwell-attended events. In early January,Bruce planned a trip to the PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art to see the Van Gogh: Faceto Face exhibit; in February, Jim hostedU.S. Representative Rush Holt (D-N.J.),who presented “A Swarthmore Perspectiveon Congress" with lively discussionregarding the election of 2000. In earlyMarch, the Connection went to thePhiladelphia Flower Show and to theCurtis Institute of Music to hear LynnHarrell, a renowned cellist.Philadelphia—Recent Graduates:Geoff Cline ’96, Kristen Lockwood Cline’96, and Ben Stern ’96 recently launchedthis subset of the Philadelphia Connectionwith a program at the PhiladelphiaMuseum of Art in February. All Connectionmembers are invited to participatein future events!Pittsburgh: In January, theConnection went to the NHLPenguins–Flyers Game andwatched the Flyers defeat thePenguins 5–1. In attendancewere Frank Beldecos '50, JenniferGross '98, Kent James'84, Joseph Wilson '68, andparents Susan and FredSchultz and Chitra and PradipTeredesai. In February, thePittsburgh Connection visitedDreadnought Wines to tastethe Rhone region’s wonderfulred and white wines. OwnerMike Gonz, a self-described“wine educator and speaker,"addressed the group.Twin Cities—Martha Easton’89 organized the first annualTwin Cities Swarthmore ProgressiveDinner in January. Itwas quite a success, and plansare under way for additional Twin Citiesevents. If you are interested in planningor participating, contact Martha Eastonthrough the Alumni Office.Seattle: Connection Chair Deb Read ’87arranged for a private wine tasting atEsquin Wine Merchants, the premierwine merchant in Seattle, in February.The outing featured Gianfranco D'Aniello'sentertaining and educational presentationon Italian wines.COURTESY OF DON SWEARER36

Calling all entrepreneursWhat do Microsoft, CNN Headline News,Priceline.com, Sony Online Entertainment,and MSNBC have in common? Mark Benerofe’81 worked with each of these organizationsand,through hisentrepreneurialvision, made substantialcontributionsto their collectivesuccess.Benerofe willbe the keynotespeaker at the2001 Lax Conferenceon Entrepreneurship,tobe held on campuson Sunday,April 1. He willMARK BENEROFE ’81 WILLKEYNOTE THE SECONDANNUAL LAX CONFERENCEON ENTREPRENEURSHIP.share his extensive experience in the organizationand implementation of Internet startupcompanies with students and members ofthe Swarthmore community. Mark is currentlyon leave from Walker Digital, wherehe serves as chief marketing officer as well asexecutive vice president of corporate developmentof Priceline.com.In addition to the keynote-speaker presentation,two panel discussions are planned.One will encourage the sharing of entrepreneurialexperiences and expertise among theparticipants. The second panel will addresshow Swarthmore prepares individuals forentrepreneurial and leadership positions inthe new century. Panel participants willinclude Shola Abidoye ’97, Stuart Cornew’80, Andy Dailey ’91, Ingeborg Daniels ’93,David Goodman ’83, Dan Kohn ’94, SusannaLevin ’85, and Curtis Roberts ’75. TheLax Conference on Entrepreneurship andEconomic Anthropology was established inmemory of Jonathan Lax ’71. Lax graduatedwith a B.A. in sociology and anthropology.He later served the College as class agentSTEPHEN DANELIANand reunion leader.Lax was active in the management of SGLIndustries, Inc., his family’s manufacturingfirm, for 10 years. In the mid-1980s, he followedhis own entrepreneurial spirit andfounded the Philadelphia-based marketresearch and consulting company, MarketingAudit.The 2001 conference is also made possiblethrough the generosity of the CharlesBoone Houston II Endowment. It is cosponsoredby the Swarthmore BusinessSociety, the Office of Career Planning andPlacement, and the Office of Alumni Relations.For additional information, call theLax Lecture Response Line (voice mail) at(610) 690-6887, or visit the conference Website at http://lax.swarthmore.edu.What is a listserv?Simply stated, a listserv is a group e-maillist. A listserv can be created for a relatedgroup of people (e.g., a particular class, aparticular interest, or geographicalgroup). The Alumni Office has createdmany listservs, and once you have registered(which you can do at http://listservs.swarthmore.eduby following theeasy directions), you can then send one e-mail to the listserv, which will be automaticallydistributed to all of the peoplewho have registered. You can send e-mails about Alumni Weekend, ClassNotes, general information—or just tosay hello. It is an easy way to communicatewith classmates, but you have to registerto participate in a listserv.Reflections onEducation andSocial JusticeA Special Alumni EventCelebrating Swarthmore’sProgram in EducationFriday,Oct.26 andSaturday,Oct.27,2001Save the date! This special event isfor all alumni involved in education—past or present. The two-day eventwill feature keynote speaker Herb Kohl(author of 36 Children and The Disciplineof Hope) and other workshops,panels, and discussions. Read moreinformation, and register on the Webat http://www.swarthmore.edu/Home/Alumni/Events/index.html orby phone at (610) 328-8655 (press“2," and leave your address on voicemail).Check those old plattersCheck your attic! WSRN, the Collegeradio station, recorded many folk concerts,student folk singers, HamburgShows, and other concerts in the 1940sand 1950s, but these old 16-inch recordingsare deteriorating rapidly. The alumnigroup Swarthmore Folk, having discoveredthe trove last year with the help ofKevin Schlottmann ’00, station manager,believe that much of this materialdeserves to be archived digitally in theFriends Historical Library.Twelve-inch 78-rpm and LP copieswere made and sold to students on campusat the time and may be in better conditionthan the original recordings. If youhave any such records in playable condition,and would be willing to lend themfor this project, contact Anne MatthewsRawson ’50 at (610) 544-5175, or e-mailarawson1@swarthmore.edu. Do not sendrecords; just let her know what you have.UPCOMINGCAMPUSEVENTSBlack AlumniWeekendMarch 23–25FamilyWeekendMarch 30–April 1AlumniWeekendJune 8–10M A R C H 2 0 0 137

C L A S S N O T E SIAs we leave old Swarthmore Collegeand this campus fair,Join the fight for racial justice,show the world you care!A NewAlma Materfor Swarthmore?S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NYou will be remembered one day,not for wealth or power,But your work for all the people—that’s your finest hour.IIThere’s a need for more crusaders;give your heart and soul;Fight against the special interests;that should be your goal.We must get along together,with all peoples too;Differences should be respectedand their points of view.IIIMother Earth needs conservation—can’t you hear her cry?We must work for preservation,or the earth will die.Peace and freedom for all nations;feed and house the poor.Hail to thee, our Alma Mater,Hail, All Hail, Swarthmore!Ken Hechler ’35 must have some extra time on his handsnow that he’s retired after 16 years as West Virginia’s secretaryof state, because he’s penned new lyrics for Swarthmore’salma mater. The old song isn’t sung much these days—it’seven missing from Commencement in recent years. Perhaps, speculatesKen, this new version will find more favor at the College ofthe 21st century.Hechler, who organized the College band in the early 1930s (see“It’s the Team that Wears the Garnet,” May 1993), went on tobecome an Army historian with the rank of major, an assistant toPresident Harry Truman, and he served nine terms as a member ofthe House of Representatives from West Virginia. He’s currently a“distinguished visiting professor” at West Virginia State College.He’s the subject of the biography Ken Hechler, Maverick Public Servantby Charles Moffat.Direct your comments on these lyrics—or your own attempt atSwarthmore songsmithing—to the editors.38

A L U M N I P R O F I L ES W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NF i n d i n g a n E n d t o R o l l o v e r sJ O S E P H K I M M E L ’ S “ K I N D E X ” H E L P S D E T E R M I N E V E H I C L E R O L L O V E R P R O B A B I L I T I E S .Joseph Kimmel ’44 has become a widelyrecognized expert on vehicle rolloverssince he developed his K Rollover StabilityIndex.The K Index is a mathematical formulafor determining a vehicle’s probability forrolling over in an accident.After it wasendorsed by the National Highway TrafficSafety Administration (NHTSA),leadingexperts,and the Center for Auto Safety,aconsumer advocacy organization,the KIndex received national attention in anextensive USA Today article last July 17.Kimmel’s interest in the rollover issuewas sparked after reading that NHTSA,inthe early 1990s,was concerned about theissue.Statistics from NHTSA in 1998show that 9,771 people were killed inrollovers.Kimmel’s K Index algorithm is primarilybased on a vehicle’s height,weight,and trackwidth,which is the distance between tiresmeasured from the center of one to the centerof the other on the opposite side.Wider,heavier,and lower vehicles have the lowestprobability of rollover.However,Kimmel says other factors,including road conditions,speed,and eventhe state in which the car is driven,must alsobe considered.He says 70 percent of rolloversare related to a vehicle’s dimensions,and 30percent are related to drivers and the drivingenvironment.Rollovers become a factorbecause of traffic congestion and driverdemographics.Kimmel says statistics show that bureaucratstend to drive more conservatively.“A lotof bureaucrats live in the Maryland suburbsjust outside of Washington,D.C.,and Baltimore,and there’s a lower incidence ofrollovers there,” he says.“The Beltwayaround Washington,D.C.,moves very slowlymuchof thetimebecauseof trafficcongestion.”Kimmel analyzed 189 popular model-year2000 vehicles last year,exclusively for USAToday. Using the K Index,it was determinedthat 55 of those vehicles would roll over in atleast 20 percent of accidents.According tothe article,of the 55 vehicles most prone toroll over,about 80 percent were sport utilityvehicles (SUVs).SUVs that received the worst ratings—JOSEPH KIMMEL’S PREDICTIONS ON AUTO ROLLOVERS HAVEBEEN PUBLISHED IN USA TODAY. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLESRECEIVED THE WORST RATINGS. WHAT DOES KIMMEL DRIVE?A MERCEDES AND AN AUDI.showing a probability of rolling over in 38 to43.9 percent of accidents—were the ChevroletTracker,Suzuki Vitara,and Toyota RAV4.The SUV least likely to rollover:the FordExcursion.It had a probability of rollover in13 percent of accidents.According to the article,Kimmel foundthat traditional passenger cars most likely toroll over,in 18 to 21.9 percent of accidents,arethe Chevrolet Metro,Suzuki Swift and ToyotaEcho.Among the cars least likely to roll over,in 1 to 3.9 percent of accidents,are the Acura3.5RL;Audi A6 Avant;Bentley;BMW 740,528;Dodge Viper and Ford Crown Victoria.Kimmel’s findings for 2001 vehicles areexpected to be published in USA Today in thenear future.A personal experience drew Kimmel to theissue and the decision to help solve the problem.“In 1933,I was 12 and holding my sister’s3-month-old son in a two-door Ford V-8 car.My sister lost control of the car on a gravelroad,and we rolled end over end.The roofwas crushed.We had to climb out of the shatteredwindows.Fortunately,everyone wasOK.Cars were very lightweight back thencompared with now,” says Kimmel,whoowns two cars—a 1989 420 SEL Mercedes(“It’s 4,800 pounds and has a 122-inch wheelbase”) and a 1999 Audi A42.8 (“It’s all-wheeldrive and can go anywhere”).In January,NHTSA announced its ownrating system for determining a vehicle’sprobability for rolling over.“The government’srating system has just five steps.Mine is more precise with 10 gradations,”says Kimmel.He also states that the government’sfigures are too gross and don’taccount for different rates in differentstates.To develop his K Index,Kimmel,anindustrial economist,used his statisticsbackground.He majored in economics atSwarthmore and has a master’s in economicsfrom the University of Pittsburgh.He operates two businesses:JWK Associates,a management consulting company,and Transportation Analysis Institute.Clients of his consulting services haveincluded the Red Cross,Citibank,and thefederal government,where he helped reorganizeSocial Security’s supplementalsecurity income and disability insuranceoperations for the Department of Health andHuman Services.Kimmel and his wife,Elizabeth BlackburnKimmel ’44,have lived in Radnor,Pa.,since1953.In addition to his businesses,Kimmel isactive in local Republican politics.He was thefounder of the Republican New Look,a reformgroup that ended Republican patronagein the township’s government workforce,andfor 10 years,he has written a weekly politicalcolumn for the local Suburban and WayneTimes newspaper.Looking to the future,Kimmel sees anotable reduction in the number of vehiclerollovers with the increased use of vehicle stabilitysystems.Stability systems,now widelyavailable on high-end cars,work by controllingthe skid,which is often what precedes aroll over.According to Tier One,a market researchorganization for the automotive industry,it’spredicted that by 2008 more than 21 percentof all North American built vehicles will comewith some form of a stability-enhancing system.That’s a huge increase from just 3 percentlast year.“The stability system is tied into the brakingsystem.It will stop a skid by alternatingthe braking pressure on each wheel,” Kimmelsays.“I think having them in more vehicles isa very good idea.They’re very effective.”—Audree PennerRYAN RICHARDS46

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I N B O O K S & A R T S52C h i l d b i r t hErik Parens and Adrienne Asch ’69 (eds.),Prenatal Testing and Disability Rights,Georgetown University Press, 2000The title of this wonderful book givesno indication of how broad an audiencewill enjoy and profit from it. Thetitle suggests that it is either a “how-to" (or“whether-to") book for prospective parentsor an “applied philosophy" orpolitical book discussing aspecific issue of rights. In fact,it is those things and muchmore. It is a wonderful microcosmof many pressing personaland cultural issues ofthe broadest interest, and it iscompletely accessible to peoplewith no special preparationin biology, politics, orphilosophy.The book is a collection ofarticles from a conference. Itincludes excellently writtenscholarly work from specialistsat the leading edge oftheir field, but these are complementedby first-personaccounts of decisions ofwhether to have prenatal testingdone—some very moving—plusstraightforwarddiscussions of the history ofsuch testing, the legal statusof the issues, and policy proposals.And what is the issue? At one level, it issimply what the title says, but the book narrowsits focus in an extremely useful way,presenting the argument made by some disabilityadvocates that prenatal testing fordisabilities—with a view to the possibility ofterminating a pregnancy if a disability isdetected—is wrong. It is wrong, at least inpart, because it may imply that life itself isnot worthwhile for a disabled person, andthis is an unacceptable insult to disabledpeople.The immediate and personal signficanceof this issue is pretty clear. A friend of minewith a child whose disability can easily bemistaken for a congenital one reports beingC h o i c e sP R E N A T A L T E S T I N G A N D D I S A B I L I T Y R I G H T Sasked on several occasions why the pregnancywas not terminated. And which of usdoes not know someone who has agonizedover whether to have amniocentesis? Butwhen we start considering the argumentsabout the issue, it broadens extremely quicklyand interestingly.One focus of the arguments—and arecurrent theme—is whether disability is aDRAWING BY LEONARDO DA VINCI—UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD/CORBIS“social construction." Now, the issue ofsocial construction is at the heart of virtuallyall topics in the humanities and social sciencesthese days. But the term “social construction"is often used quite cavalierly inways that suggest that the phenomenon itdescribes could be usefully wiped off ourcognitive maps if we merely decided to doso. The personal and urgent nature of thematter forces us to recognize that the blindand deaf remain significantly different fromthe seeing and hearing, regardless of howwe “socially construct" them.“Difference" also is at the heart of alldiscussions in the humanities and socialsciences these days. Much of what we mightonce have thought was characterizable as“good" versus “bad" is now thought of asmere “difference" that has been “sociallyconstructed" as good or bad. A similar argumentis considered throughout this bookregarding the disabled. Is blindness a neutralcondition, merely different from sightednessexcept for the social construction ofinferiority? Does that imply that curingblindness or causing blindness in a child areno worse or better thanbringing it to be raised in adifferent culture? Unlikewhen the issue comes up inthe political arena, glib languageand mere politicalrhetoric will not do here.The issues must be confrontedand the nuancesrespected. This book is anexcellent start.For instance, if contributorsto the book do notobject to terminating apregnancy on grounds ofgeneral inconvenience tothe mother, how can someof them oppose terminatinga pregnancy on grounds ofthe particular inconvenienceof having a disabledchild? Co-editor, contributor,and summarizer AdrienneAsch’s point is that thelatter, but not the former,impugns the worth of thelife of the living disabled. But is such a personaldecision the sort of thing that thissort of offense to a third person shouldinfluence? If one person chooses not tomarry another because of, say, a sexual disabilitysuch as impotence, we might want tocriticize them, but would we do so ongrounds of its effect on other sexually disabledpeople? And, on a different tack,would the argument imply that we shouldnot terminate pregnancies that are theresult of rape or incest because of the implicationsfor living people conceived in thatway?Even these issues pale in significance inlight of deeper issues that simmer in thisbook. We see here some of our most cher-

ished values being taken to extremes thatforce us to reflect on them. Politically, wehave taken it as unquestioned that when noone else’s welfare is concerned, we shouldhave the widest possible range of choices.But do we want to live with the consequencesof such choices if it means a worldwith no disabled people in it? How about ifparents overwhelmingly choose to have childrenof the same sex? Even more broadly, wehave strived for centuries to increase ourcontrol over our lives, not just politically, buttechnologically. There was very little complaintwhen that control did not, despiteour efforts, amount to very much. But it isamounting to more and more, and the questionof whether we want so much choiceand control cannot be put off much longer. Ican frankly think of no better place to beginthat consideration than with this book.O t h e rR e c e n tB o o k s—Richard SchuldenfreiProfessor of PhilosophyEmilie Amt ’82 (ed.), Medieval England1000–1500: A Reader, Broadview Press,2001. This collection of documents providesa broad overview of life in Medieval England,from local writings about the dailylives of common people to well-knownpolitical texts such as the Magna Carta.David Bennahum ’57 (ed.), Managed Care:Financial, Legal, and Ethical Issues, The PilgrimPress, 1999. This book examines theissues facing managed care today by assemblingthe viewpoints of key decision makersin the Albuquerque, N.M, health care area,from the chief executive officer of a hospitalsystem to the director of managed care, ahome health care specialist, a lawyer, chaplains,and professors at a medical school.Ninotchka Bennahum ’86, Antonia Mercé:“La Argentina": Flamenco and the SpanishAvant Garde, Wesleyan UniversityPress/University Press of New England,AN EXPANDED SECTIONWith this issue of the Bulletin, “Books &Arts” enlarges “Books & Authors.” We haveexpanded the scope of this section beyondbooks to include compact disks, films,videos, Web sites, art shows, musical compositions,and public performances. Let usknow of your latest public creative endeavor.Books, videos, and CDs will be donatedto the College Library after being reviewedor noted in these pages. Send your work to:Books & Arts, Swarthmore College Bulletin,500 College Avenue, Swarthmore PA 19081-1390. Or e-mail news of your latest creationto bulletin@swarthmore.edu.2000. Of great value to music and dancehistorians, this evaluation of AntoniaMercé, the most celebrated Spanish dancerof the early 20th century whose stage namewas “La Argentina," reveals her importanceas an artistic symbol for contemporarySpain and its culture.Peter Berkowitz ’81 (ed.), Virtue and theMaking of Modern Liberalism, Princeton UniversityPress, 1999. This book offers ananalysis of the debate over virtue withinmodern liberal theory and practice and anaccounting of the role ofvirtue in the classical liberaltradition.Paul Brodwin ’81 (ed.),Biotechnology and Culture:Bodies, Anxieties, Ethics, IndianaUniversity Press, 2001.In this book, experts fromvarious disciplines examinethe controversies arisingfrom advances in biotechnology,blurring the dividinglines of genres and breachingdisciplinary conventions asthey variously analyze suchissues as cloning, surrogacy,and organ transplantation.T. Alan Broughton ’62, TheOrigin of Green, CarnegieMellon University Press, 2001. In this movingcollection of poems including “DawnMosaic," “Praise," and “The Color IsGreen," Broughton expresses his feelingsRICHARD GOODKIN, AUTHOR OFBIRTH MARKS, TEACHES FRENCH ATTHE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN.and memories about family, relationships,nature, and writing.Steven Epstein ’74, Speaking of Slavery:Color, Ethnicity, & Human Bondage in Italy,Cornell University Press, 2001. In this work,Epstein shows that the ways Italians usewords and think about race and labor aresignificantly influenced by medieval Italianlanguage to sustain a system of slavery.Michele Ruth Gamburd ’87, The KitchenSpoon’s Handle: Transnationalism and SriLanka’s Migrant Housemaids, Cornell UniversityPress, 2000. Gamburd illustrates theeffects of female migration from Sri Lankathrough stories and memories of returnedmigrants and their families and interviewswith government officials, recruiting agents,and moneylenders.Richard Goodkin ’75, Birth Marks: TheTragedy of Primogeniture in Pierre Corneille,Thomas Corneille, and Jean Racine, Universityof Pennsylvania Press, 2000. This book reexaminesFrench classical tragedy in termsof recent theories about the sibling bond,particularly with respect to birth order.Joan (Friendly) Goodman ’56 and HowardLesnick, The Moral Stakein Education: ContestedPremises and Practices,Longman, 2001. Thistext, designed for bothprofessional reading andcourses in the ethics andphilosophy of education,offers both preservice andin-service teachers severalphilosophies on ways toteach morality.Alan Gordon ’81, JesterLeaps In: A Medieval Mystery,St. Martin’s/Minotaur,2001. Gordon, alawyer working with theLegal Aid Society in NewYork City who has writtena previous novel and severalshort stories, offers another mystery,including jester, jugglers, and knaves in themidst of political turmoil in 13th-centuryEurope.M A R C H 2 0 0 153

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I N B O O K S & A R T SB o o k sJim Huang ’82 (ed.), 100 Favorite Mysteriesof the Century, The Crum Creek Press,2000. This list, selected by the IndependentMystery Booksellers Association, featurescherished books and reviews frombooksellers across the United States andCanada, with additional personal recommendationsand comments.Joan (Moffitt) Larkin ’60 (ed.), A WomanLike That: Lesbian and Bisexual Writers TellTheir Coming Out Stories, Avon Books,1999. Extending from the 1940s to thepresent day, the stories in this anthologyreveal the social mores related to the lesbianand bisexual experience in the UnitedStates during the past half-century.Susan Signe Morrison ’81, Women Pilgrimsin Late Medieval England: Private Piety asPublic Performance, Routledge, 2000. Thisbook explores the phenomenon of womenand pilgrimage in the late Middle Ages,examining the medieval perceptions ofgender and space.Stephen Nathanson ’65, Should We Consentto Be Governed? A Short Introduction toPolitical Philosophy (2nd ed.), Wadsworth/Thomas Learning, 2001. In this introductionto political philosophy, Nathansonpresents the central themes of politicalphilosophy and the views of several significantthinkers.Geoffrey Plank ’80, An Unsettled Conquest:The British Campaign Against the Peoples ofAcadia, University of Pennsylvania Press,2001. Plank gives an in-depth account ofthe removal of the Acadians, the ancestorsof the Lousiana Cajuns, and the subsequentoppression of the Mi’kmaq.Nicole (Fischer) Hahn Rafter ’62, Encyclopediaof Women and Crime, Oryx Press,2000. Criminologist Rafter provides aresource that explores the role of women asoffenders, victims, criminologists, lawyers,reformers, and workers in the criminal justicesystem.Donald Kennedy and John Riggs ’64(eds.), U.S. Policy and the Global Environment:Memos to the President, The AspenABOVE: LAWYER ALAN GORDONHAS WRITTEN JESTER LEAPS IN:A MEDIEVAL MYSTERY. RIGHT:ERIC SCHATZBERG, AUTHOR OFWINGS OF WOOD, WINGS OFMETAL, TEACHES THE HISTORY OFSCIENCE AT THE UNIVERSITY OFWISCONSIN. BELOW: GEOFFREYPLANK, WHO WROTE AN UNSET-TLED CONQUEST, TEACHES AT THEUNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI.Institute, 2000. This set of policy memoswas written by a group of science, business,and environment experts at the AspenInstitute as members of a hypotheticalcommittee to advise the new president onglobal environmental policy.Micheal Emery, Edwin Emery, and NancyRoberts ’76, The Press and America: AnInterpretive History of the Mass Media (9thed.), Allyn and Bacon, 2000. Roberts, aprofessor of journalism and mass communicationat the University of Minnesota,updated this comprehensive history ofjournalism—fulfilling a promise to coauthorsEdwin Emery, her doctoral advisorand colleague, and his son Michael, a professorof journalism at California State University,after their deaths.Eric Schatzberg ’79, Wings of Wood, Wingsof Metal: Culture and Technical Choice inAmerican Airplane Materials, 1914–1945,Princeton University Press, 1999. Schatzbergshows that culture and ideology helpdetermine the most basiccharacteristics of modernindustrial technologiesas well as the influenceof the military on 20thcenturytechnology.Hasia Diner, JeffreyShandler ’78, and BethWenger (eds.), Rememberingthe Lower East Side:American Jewish Reflections,Indiana UniversityPress, 2001. This collectionsof essays exploresthe dynamics of Lower East Side memory,examining the changing ways that theneighborhood has been embraced by AmericanJews over a century.Barbara Calkins Swartout ’53, BuildingCanandaigua: A Collection, Ontario CountyHistorical Society, 1997. In this work,which began as an inventory of historicstructures and neighborhoods, the authorexplores the history of Canandaigua, N.Y.Nina de Angeli Walls ’62, Art, Industry, andWomen’s Education in Philadelphia, Bergin &Garvey, 2001. This book, created becausethe traditions of Moore College of Art andDesign intrigued the author, includes chapterson “Designing Women as Students,"“Managing a Women’s Art School," and“Moore College in the Twentieth Century."Barbara Winne ’41, Singular Shadow, selfpublished,2000. In this collection ofpoems, Winne uses vivid imagery to reflecton memories and relationships fromthroughout her life.54

F i l mDavid Linde ’82, producer of Crouching Tiger, HiddenDragon, wowed moviegoers across the nation this winterwith the hit Chinese action-adventure blend ofkung fu and romanticism. At press time, CrouchingTiger, Hidden Dragon had received 10 Academy Awardnominations.Nancy Cole and Liza Xydis ’86 completed the docucomedySmall Metal Glasses, which aired on Throughthe Lens (WYBe Television, Jan. 23). The followingdescription about the award-winning film was postedon the Web site http://www.docfestival.gr/2000/stories_uk.html:“In a series of interviews with variouseyeglass-wearers as well as with two opticians who selleyewear, the film comments on the issues of medicalnecessity, superficial accessory, [and] the judgementswe make based on appearances.”DAVID LINDE, WHO PRODUCED CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDENDRAGON (RIGHT), IS A NATIVE OREGONIAN WHO SPENT TWOFORMATIVE YEARS BEFORE SWARTHMORE IN EUROPEAN BOARD-ING SCHOOLS, WHERE HE ACQUIRED LANGUAGE SKILLS THATHAVE CONTINUED TO BE USEFUL IN HIS CAREER.CHAN KAM CHUENM u s i cMeghan Hayes ’93, who suggested expanding this section to“Books & Arts" (see box on call for submissions), opened for CapitolRecords recording artist Amy Correia at the Tin Angel inPhiladelphia on Feb. 2. Hayes’ CD, Snow on the Waves, releasedin September, explores her travels through the United Statesand the Czech Republic as well as themes of love and fear. Aftergraduating, she supported her music by teaching in Brno,Czech Republic, and then working for consumer advocate RalphNader, who led Hayes to an accidental singing appearance onNational Public Radio’s E-Town. In addition to writing, singing,and playing acoustic guitar for the 12 tracks of folk, rock, alternativecountry, and melodic pop songs, Hayes produced therecording with David McKittrick.MEGHAN HAYES STARTED WRITING SONGS BEFORE ATTENDING SWARTHMORE,WHERE SHE FIRST PERFORMED LIVE. SHE HAS PLAYED IN CLUBS AND COFFEE-HOUSES IN THE MID-ATLANTIC, NORTHEAST, AND WASHINGTON, D.C., AREAS ATVENUES LIKE THE BLACK CAT, LUNA PARK GRILLE, IOTA, AND CAFFE.KATHRYN SMITHPatrick Runkle ’98 released his first CD, After the Fall, with the“80s-style synthpop” duo Ganymede. As reported in the LancasterNew Era, Ganymede evokes a spacey, other-worldly moodand is on the racks at independent music stores in California.Electroage describes it as “Addictive-like Elegant Machinery,cheerful-like Cosmicity, and pleasurable-like early Anything Box;Ganymede brilliantly plays in the old-school synthpop fieldwithout a sense of déjà-vu.” TM A R C H 2 0 0 155

A L U M N I P R O F I L ES W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NS t i c k i n g W i t h t h e U n i o nJ . S T A N N A R D B A K E R ’ 6 8 H E L P E D S P A R K V E R M O N T ’ S C I V I L U N I O N S A C T .In June 1997, J.Stannard Bakerand his partner,Peter Harrigan,went to the town clerk’s officein Shelburne,Vt.,and requested amarriage license.The clerk politelyrefused.Baker,a child and familytherapist and director of a mentalhealth agency in Middlebury,andHarrigan,a tenured professor oftheater at St.Michael’s College,along with two lesbian couples,filed the Vermont lawsuit thatultimately led to the history-makingCivil Unions Act,whichallows same-sex couples the samelegal rights,privileges,andresponsibilities as married heterosexualcouples.The lawsuit,referred to as the Baker Case, ledto one of the most significantgains for the gay and lesbianrights movement in 30 years.Although Baker was alreadyactive in Vermont gay politics,when he was asked by a friend to narrate apromotional video for The Freedom to MarryTask Force,he also became involved in theissue.Two Vermont attorneys had beenpreparing background material for the suit,and several lesbian couples had agreed to beplaintiffs,but no gay men had stepped forward.“Peter and I spoke to our families andcolleagues,and they all supported our decision,”says Baker.With secure jobs at institutionswith nondiscrimination policies thatincluded sexual orientation,they felt the riskswould be minimal.“I also did it because I fellin love with Peter,” says Baker.“Because I hadbeen in a previous heterosexual marriage for20 years,I also knew how powerful thoselegal and social supports could be to our relationship.”The lawsuit was filed in July 1997,and,byNovember 1998,the case had moved up tothe state Supreme Court.After 13 months ofdeliberating,the justices came to a unanimousruling on the Baker Case. Chief JusticeJeffrey Amestoy,a Republican,read the court’sstatement:“The extension of the CommonBenefits Clause [of the Vermont Constitution]to acknowledge the plaintiffs as Vermonterswho seek nothing more,nor less,STAN BAKER (LEFT) AND HIS PARTNER, PETER HARRIGAN, CELEBRATED THEIR LEGAL UNION AT A BOAT RECEPTION ONLAKE CHAMPLAIN. THEY FILED A VERMONT LAWSUIT THAT LED TO THE HISTORY-MAKING CIVIL UNIONS ACT.than legal protection and security for theiravowed commitment to an intimate and lastinghuman relationship is simply,when all issaid and done,a recognition of our commonhumanity.” Baker and Harrigan were elated.The court left it to the Vermont Legislatureto decide how to grant full rights andbenefits to same-sex couples.The legislaturespent the 2000 session debating and holdingpublic hearings in the House of Representativesand Senate.Baker was in the publicspotlight,traveling around the state speakingto church groups and civic groups everyweek.“Our purpose as plaintiffs was to put apersonal face on the issue,” he says.“It was‘Peter and Stan,’ not ‘those gay people.’ Aftera sometimes bitter battle,the Legislaturevoted to create an institution called civilunion,affording same-sex couples the samerights under the law as married couples.Baker and Harrigan married on Aug.13 inan Episcopal Church with a choir,a priest,and 270 guests.“It was more than just a ceremonyof our commitment;it is a legal union,”says Baker,who adds,“Having the rights ofmarriage includes having to go through a lotof bureaucratic hoops if we ever wanted todissolve it—just like heterosexual couples.”But there was a shadow looming over thefestivities.While Baker was celebrating hismarriage,large amounts of money were flowingin from out-of-state conservative groupsto fund a highly visible campaign to overturnthe Civil Unions Act.“Take Back Vermont”signs appeared in stores and in farmer’s fieldsthroughout the state.Baker’s neighbors putup their own signs,“Move Vermont Forward,”and “Keep Vermont Civil.” He andHarrigan were grateful for the support.On election day,Baker and Harrigan anxiouslywatched the local election returns andbreathed a sigh of relief when opponents ofcivil unions failed to unseat the governor andtake over Vermont government.Not onlythat,exit polls showed a strong majority ofVermonters supporting civil unions.While five more states are now consideringcivil union legislation,the battle continuesin Vermont,albeit somewhat more calmly.“I believe,” says Baker,“that as we go intothe most powerful and fundamental institutionof our culture—marriage—and ask it toapply to same-sex couples,we tell young peoplethey have a choice.Justice is the best antidoteto despair.”—Laura Markowitz ’85ILENE PERLMAN60

A L U M N I P R O F I L EA H i t o f P o e t r yA N E W P O E T D A I L Y A T D O N S E L B Y ’ S [ ’ 7 4 ] P O E M S . C O MGARY STOTTLEMYERDON SELBY RUNS POETRY DAILY AT WWW.POEMS.COM,A NONPROFIT COMPANY FEATURING THE WORK OF ADIFFERENT CONTEMPORARY POET DAILY.S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NWhen he graduated from Swarthmore,Don Selby had no idea that 25 yearslater he’d be running what is probably themost popular Web site around devotedentirely to contemporary poetry.Poetry Daily (PD), at www.poems.com (orwww.poetrydaily.org), is a nonprofit companythat features the work of a different contemporarypoet each day. It also keeps anarchive of poets, provides links to articlesabout poetry published in major print-mediaoutlets, and is linked to Amazon.com—sovisitors can order books by featured poetswith a couple of clicks of the mouse. PD,funded almost entirely by individuals’ donations(don’t let the “dot.com” fool you!),boasts 45 million yearly hits and 3 millionyearly “visits” (a measure of the number ofpeople who stay at the Web site for anylength of time). It has 19,000 subscribers toits weekly e-mail newsletter. “Poets, students,academics, and wannabes,” says Selby, whofounded the site with two partners, DianeBoller and Rob Anderson, in 1997, “but alsoheavy equipment operators, designers, militarymen and women, software professionals,unemployed persons, and lawyers and doctorswho tell us they sign on to redeem theirday! We get mail from South Dakota! India!Even a research ship in Antartica!”PD’s stated mission: “To make it easier forpeople to find poets and poetry they like, andto help publishers bring news of their books,magazines, and journals to more people.”A self-described “last-minute English major”in college, Selby is not a poet himself. “Mylast effort was for my junior high magazine.No way to surpass that accomplishment, so Igave it up.”From Swarthmore, he went directly to theUniversity of Virginia’s law school but neverpracticed law. Instead, he got a job with asmall Charlottesville legal publishing company,which eventually became part of LEXIS-NEXIS, the massive on- and off-line lawand-businesspublications company. Towardthe end of his 20-year tenure there, he got totalking with an employee—Boller—who wasinterested in contemporary poetry. They hadboth noticed how difficult it was to find contemporarypoetry collections and journalseven in the best bookstores. “We started talkingabout what could happen for poetry, howwe could get it a wider audience,” says Selby.“And that’s how Poetry Daily began.”Selby, who is currently the site’s only fulltimeemployee, says they have not donemuch self-promotion. “But we were on-lineearly, and it turns out poetry is one of themost searched-for things on the Web. We gotour URL early enough that we got “poems.-com,” and we had experience designing sites,so we knew how to make it easy for searchengines to find us. Early on, cultural editorsat newspapers were browsing around to seewhat was happening on the Web.The NewYork Times, the Times of London, and the WallStreet Journal found us and did articles.” PDis now on most poetry book and journal publishers’review copy lists, and every time thesite features a poet, “we immediately get agigantic new network of their friends, family,and fellow poets.”Now, says Selby, the only problem is whatto do with the massive mountain of poetrybooks piling up in his basement, with dozensmore coming in weekly.—Daisy Fried ’8962

A L U M N I P R O F I L ES W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NS k yD a n c i n gA M E L I A R U D O L P H ’ 8 6 C O M B I N E S T W O P A S S I O N S : M O U N T A I N E E R I N G A N D M O D E R N D A N C E .Swarthmore has produced some notablechoreographers and dancers,but AmeliaRudolph may be the only one who often performsseveral hundred feet above ground.Aperformance by Project Bandaloop—thegroup Rudolph founded nearly a decadeago—is not easily forgotten.Bandaloop was recently featured on PBSand in Smithsonian Magazine,performing adance called “Luminescent Flights” off theface of a 2,400-foot granite cliff in YosemiteNationalPark.It’s an appropriate title,considering thatBandaloop’s specialty is equal parts flight andmodern dance,rappelling and gymnastics—asort of sophisticated high-wire act without thenet.Rudolph’s group has performed on such“stages” as Seattle’s Space Needle,the Vascoda Gama Tower in Lisbon,Portugal,and thePacific cliffs of California.“Dancing while rappelling has its limitationsin terms of choreography,but solvingthose problems is what intrigues me,” saysRudolph,who lives in Oakland,Calif.Although they often perform on the ground,it’s the hybrid of mountaineering and dancethat drives Project Bandaloop.Rudolph came to Swarthmore from Chicago’sHubbard School of Dance.Although shemajored in comparative religion,she took a lotof dance.“The dance program at Swarthmoreis incredible in its ability to bring amazingpeople in to work with the students,” sherecalls.“That made it very transformative forme.”After graduation,she performed withprominent modern dance artists such as MarkMorris.But after a knee injury,she returned tocomparative religion,this time at the GraduateTheological Union in Berkeley.While preparingher thesis on “American modern dance asritual,” she began working with four of thedancers who now make up Project Bandaloop.All were avid climbers,a passion Rudolph discoveredat 25.Together,the group developed their suspended-dancetechnique.Hanging fromanchored ropes,they wear climbing harnessesand use self-locking devices to descend andhold their positions while they dance.Like therest of the company,Rudolph is a skilledmountaineer as well as a world-class dancer.AMELIA RUDOLPH '86 (RIGHT) AND HEATHER BAER PERFORM WITH PROJECT BANDALOOP ON THE CALI-FORNIA COAST, NORTH OF SAN FRANCISCO.On top of the rigors of dancing,they have totraverse cliff walls considered challengingeven to career climbers.“The reason I chose this,rather than amore traditional track,has everything to dowith rock climbing,” Rudolph explains.“Myexperience of nature was—and is—profound.Being in the mountains gave me a powerfulincentive to create art.It’s a continuing themethroughout what I do.” So is her interest inreligion.“I think modern North American cultureis lacking in meaningful rituals that bringus together as a community and lift our spirits.A good performance of gravity-skewingdance can do that.”Most dances Bandaloop performs—eventhose on city skyscrapers—focus on “capturingthe experience of the mountains.” Performanceshave a heart-stopping effect onaudiences,but Rudolph insists,it’s not as dangerousas it looks.The company employs twoprofessional riggers.“We are extremely safetyconscious,” she says.It takes a lot to frighten her these days.“I don’t even register 150 feet or a 10-storybuilding anymore,” she admits,“but when wewent out a 23-story window in downtownHouston last year,I was scared—somethingabout seeing those tiny cars below! We’re allaware in that moment that there is no goingback until we’re on the ground.On a building,you can’t even find a root to hold onto.Butonce we start rehearsing,we become completelyfocused on the choreography.”One drawback to choreographing at suchdizzying heights,she says,is that audiencesare often so distracted by the perceived dangerthat they miss the subtleties of the dance.“Iwant people to ignore the sweaty palms andenjoy the work,” she says.“I don’t deny thatthere’s an incredible feeling when you first goout a 23rd-story window or over the edge of acliff.But my motivation is the creative waysthat I can explore movement,enabled by theseunusual situations.”Meanwhile,there are plenty of impressivevertical stages left to dance on,both naturaland man-made.And there’s one wall thatholds particular attractions for Rudolph:“Itwould be so cool to perform on ClothierTower!”—Cathleen McCarthySHARY McVOY68

S W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I N I N M Y L I F EB a t hT i m eA N H O U R A T T H E O N S E N I S N ’ T E N O U G H .By Marc Pachon ’96Kyoko and I arrived at the Mawaki onsen (public bath) at5:50 p.m. We walked past it up a covered, wooden path thatstretched up to the hotel at the top of the mountain. In theempty restaurant, we were greeted by a young woman in the hotel’suniform. She informed us that the restaurant wouldn’t be officiallyopen for another 5 minutes, but we were free to sit at a table andlook at the menus. We took the table closest to the entrancebecause of its view of the bay, and I was glad we had arrived while itwas still daylight.The prices were higher than we had remembered—twice what Iwas used to paying. But it was the only restaurant around that didnot specialize in noodles, so we ordered and then started talkingabout nothing. A group of six old men came into the restaurantand started smoking and talking loudly at their table right behindus. The smoke bothered me more than the noise because I’m usedto blocking out the constant conversations around me I can’tunderstand yet. The food arrived, and we ate quickly—Kyoko gettingmy pickles and I snagging some of her cooked fish. It was agood meal, but I knew I’d be hungry again after the onsen.We finished an hour after arriving, having slowed down later inthe meal to discuss bigger nothings. I told Kyoko about my dreamhouse design, which sidetracked into a discussion of how I wouldchange if I had the money to build it. Kyoko likes me the way I am,and I’m not sure that I do. I feel like I have some huge change inpersonality approaching, but I don’t know when or what it will be.Maybe Kyoko sensed it, too, and was afraid about its implications.I’m not too worried about my future withher, though. Uso. After eating, I paid, andIN THE POOLS, MYMIND SLOWS DOWN.IN THE SAUNA, MYHEART STARTS TORACE, AND EVERYBREATH, EVERYSECOND GOES BYFULLY REALIZED.we left for the baths.I carried her piggyback down the pathwayfor no good reason, and we arrived atthe onsen laughing. Kyoko pointed out themoon, now just above the tree line. It was inone of those phases where the crescent isilluminated, but the rest of the sphere looksdarker than the surrounding sky. We boughttickets at the machine and looked at theclock: 7:02.“Let’s meet at 8,” I said.“Mmmm ... 8:15, yo,” she said in a bilingualmix.“An hour’s good enough, ne?”“But I have the stone side, yo.” Shesmiled at me. We both think that the stoneside of the onsen is better than the woodside. This onsen is divided by sex, and which gender is on whichside changes every week. Unfortunately for me, the last three timeswe’ve come, I’ve had the wood side. Kyoko isn’t exactly crushed forme.“Well, I’ll be here in an hour,” I say, playing my typical games.“We’ll see how strong your feelings for me are.... You know,whether you’d make me wait miserably outhere while you enjoy the stone side for a fewmore minutes.”She wrinkled her face. “8:15, yo, since Idon’t want to rush.” Point, Kyoko.“Tell you what, 8:15, but you owe me afavor.”“Like what?”“Don’t know yet. I’ll cash it in at myleisure.”She glanced at the clock. “Now it’s 7:08,so yappari, it’s only an hour.”“Too bad. You’ll still owe me.”We kissed and went to our respectivesides. A wooden porch with matching woodenshelves marked the “shoes-off” boundary,and I removed mine and placed themon one of the shelves. There were little key lockers available, but Ilike to give humanity the benefit of the doubt. Not only do I feelpretty sure about my possessions in rural Japan, but my shoe size isalso an inch larger than most Japanese brands go.I ducked under the split-cloth curtain and opened the woodensliding door to the changing room. Like most onsen changingMICHAEL S. YAMASHITA/CORBIS72

MICHAEL S. YAMASHITA/CORBISrooms, it consisted of a sink/mirror area for post-bath primpingand a series of wooden cabinets and shelves for possessions. Theshelves had large wicker baskets on them, and I stripped quicklyand placed everything in one of them. Another sliding door led tothe indoor section of the baths, and I entered armed with only asmall blue towel and my glasses.The first stop was the shower area. “You need to be clean toenter the baths,” I once told my friends visiting from LA. I soaped,shampooed, and rinsed in about 15 minutes. I try to take a littlelonger in this stage than the Japanese around me, a small contributionto the fight against stereotypes of the dirty foreigner. Thishygienically and culturally cleansing activity finished, I proceededto one of the actual baths.The indoor pools in onsens are typically much hotter than theoutdoor ones. This particular onsen had three indoor pools, two ofwhich were moderately hot, and the third—the pool that fed waterto the other two—barely tolerable. I sat in the uncomfortable onefor about 5 minutes and allowed most of my muscles to melt outthrough my pores. Aaahhhhhh.I moved outside, to the salted pools. I will, at some point, findout what they put into these treated pools,but I am currently ignorant. It gives a yellowtint to the water and has a salty taste. Thewood side of Mawaki onsen had four outdoorpools, two of them treated. In eachcase, a small, hot, elevated pool served as afeeder to a more shallow but much largerpool.I slid into the shallow treated pool andlay back, using my towel as a pillow. Thewater in the pool was almost perfect bodytemperature. This was the part of the onsenthat I loved. To my right, a raspy speakerwas attempting to play radio music. I let thestatic and the Japanese lyrics run togetherinto a meditative white noise and scanned“YOU NEED TO BE CLEAN TO ENTER THE BATHS,” MARC PACHON TOLD AFRIEND. EVERY ONSEN IS DIFFERENT. THESE PHOTOGRAPHS HINT AT THEVARIETY OF EXPERIENCES TO BE FOUND IN THE JAPANESE BATH.BOB KRIST/CORBISthe sky. In one of life’s perfect moments, my ears picked up thevoice of an old man in the deeper pool singing at the same timethat my eyes locked on to the comet. The moon was in front of me,black and white against the navy sky, and a few degrees to its rightwas Hale-Bopp at its brightest, a speckled teardrop half the size ofthe moon. The elderly bather’s scratchy voice traced over a Japanesefolk song and perfected the mood. I had no job to complete, nomeeting to go to, and the onsen provided the perfect excuse to donothing and enjoy it. Some of my friends smoke to achieve thisstate, others hang out at coffee bars. The Japanese have the onsen.For about 20 minutes, I watched the moon slowly descend fromview. Around the same time it disappeared behind the small buildinghousing the sauna, a group of college-aged men entered theoutdoor area. They entered the pool I was in and started talkingloudly to each other. One of them pointed to the comet and shiftedthe conversation. The Japanese pronounced it “Hey-bup,” in twoquick syllables. I left the pool and entered the sauna.The sauna is the polar opposite of the onsen pools. In the pools,my mind slows down, and the world gels into a few very mellowobservations. In the sauna, my heart starts to race, and everybreath, every second goes by fully realized.Thoughts rush through my mind, trying todistract me from the heat, but my consciousnesskeeps returning to the intensediscomfort of the room. I don’t know howmuch hotter Japanese saunas are, but I’venever counted the seconds in a U.S. sauna.After five minutes by the little egg timernext to the entrance, I left to enter the coldpool.It’s outside, next to the sauna, and thenear-freezing water provides an experienceI’ve always imagined akin to a lightningstrike. My mind cleared like a jostled Etch-a-Sketch, and simple bodily activities likeblood flow and heart pumping suddenlybecame the focus of my existence. I usuallyenter, then hold my breath under water foras long as possible. (Two-and-a-half minutes is my record.) Thismarked the end of my onsen routine. I emerged from my cold dip,imagining icicles forming on my body as I walked across the outdoorarea and re-entered the building. Inside, I returned to one ofthe shower stalls and rinsed off my body quickly, removing salt andsweat that the cold dip didn’t take care of. I also rinsed out mytowel, which I then used to towel the water off myself. I checked theclock: 8:05.Putting on my clothes and hand combing my hair back to asemblance of order took another five minutes, and I left the men’sside of the onsen five minutes early. Kyoko was waiting for me, a littlesmile of triumph on her face.“Osoi, yo.” She tapped her watch and raised an eyebrow.“I guess I owe you a favor.” I smiled, put my arm around her, andwe left the baths. TMarc Pachon taught at Kanazawa City Schools in Ishikawa Prefecture,Japan. He is now a first-year law student at Northwestern University.M A R C H 2 0 0 173

C L A S S N O T E SS W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I NL e t t e r scontinued from pa ge 3old football tradition. It is afailure of leadership in meetingthe challenge of fulfillingSwarthmore’s mission. Wehave formed an organizationto try to reverse this trend.Please see our Web site,www.mindthe-light.com, formore analysis of the decisionand its consequences.The essence of the Quakertradition of decision makingis patience, active listening,and a determination tounderstand all opinions andto find an accommodationthat preserves the spirit andthe health of the community.It is an expression of loveand mutual respect.Tragically, this traditionwas not maintained in makingthis decision. Unlike thedebate about Swarthmore’sinvestment policies towardSouth Africa, which tookeight years of full and opendiscussion to reach a conclusion,this decision was madein one day without a writtenreport and verifiable data tosubstantiate the AthleticsReview Committee’s recommendation.No attempt wasmade to engage the talentsof the full Swarthmore communityto discuss the recommendation.Students, alumni,faculty, and parents were notconsulted.The aftermath of thisdecision and the way it wasmade have been the destructionof Swarthmore’s senseof community. Two Boardmembers and many classagents have resigned todate, and many more aredeeply disturbed by thisdecision. Hundreds of alumniand College communitymembers—athletes andnonathletes, men andwomen—have joined theMind the Light organizationto fight for a restoration ofSwarthmore’s traditional valuesand decision process.The only way to restorethe College’s sense of communityis to go back tobasics and study the issue inan open manner, drawing onour best talents and ourmutual love of Swarthmore.Even if, over time, theuproar diminishes, withoutthis commitment it willmean that a large segment ofthe community will havegiven up on the College,their love replaced withindifference.WILLIAM ROBINSON ’60Westlake Village, Calif.THE VIEW FROM DIVISION II write to support andapplaud the College’s decisionto limit the number ofrecruited athletes to 15 percentof the student bodyand, consequently, to cutsome athletics programs. Ihave a different perspectiveon this question than mostmembers of the College communitybecause I teach atthe University of Virginia(UVA), an excellent academicschool but also a NationalCollegiate Athletic AssociationDivision I school with alarge sports program anddedicated athletic scholarships.I imagine most peopleassociated with Swarthmorewould agree that UVA is thelast sort of place they wouldwant to use as a model forthe role of sports on campus,but, in my view, the riskof compromising educationalprograms is, in fact, fargreater at Swarthmore thanit is here. The central issue issize: Despite having morethan 11,000 undergraduates,UVA supports just 24 varsitysports (12 each for men andwomen)—three more thanSwarthmore plans to supportin its reconfigured program.According to figures Irecently received from ourAthletic Department, onlyabout 4 percent of UVA studentsreceive athletics scholarships,and fewer than 6percent participate in varsitysports. Although Swarth-76

more’s student-athletes doubtless have astronger academic profile than UVA’s,Swarthmore will still be reserving, in proportionalterms, three times the number ofathlete slots in each entering class, evenafter eliminating football.As an educator, it astounds and disturbsme that some in the College communitythink it would do no harm to push the numberof recruited athletes to 20 percent orhigher. Even at the Division III level, athleticsrecruiting significantly alters—and inmany cases weakens—the academic profileof the student body. If that were not thecase, there would be no controversy, and allthe teams could be filled with walk-ons.Swarthmore is, and will remain, in manyways more invested in its sports programsthan “football schools” like UVA. The College’sdecision to limit athletics recruitmentis wise, responsible, and the only decisionfor an academically serious institution.JOSHUA DIENSTAG ’86Charlottesville, Va.SHORT-SIGHTED DECISIONI find the College’s decision to eliminate certainintercollegiate sports, particularly football,to be extremely shortsighted and certainlyto the detriment of the College; studentbody; and, shortly, Swarthmore’s reputationas a well-rounded academic institution.From the publicity given this action, Ican only conclude that the agendas of a fewthoroughly trampled the desires and wishesof many.RICHARD KERSEY ’58Trumbull, Conn.LOVE SWARTHMORE, LOATHE DECISIONI love Swarthmore. But I loathe your decisionto abandon the football program.As a former lacrosse player, theoretically Ishould applaud the ostensible goal ofrecruiting more lacrosse players (with thenow-available football slots). But some ofthe very best lacrosse players on our verybest lacrosse team (1982) never played thesport until [former coach] Jim Noyes wentto the football team after its season and gaveanyone who wanted one a lacrosse stick.And thus were born Eddie Meehan, JohnHiros, all the Walsh brothers, and so manyother great Swarthmore lacrosse players.ADAM REEVES ’85New YorkTHE ATHLETICS DECISIONAND QUAKER PROCESSI write in order to present one QuakerBoard member’s perspective on Friends’decision-making processes and the decisionsmade at the meeting of the Board ofManagers on Dec. 2.When decisions are made by groups ofQuakers both in their meetings (monthly,quarterly, and yearly) and in the nonprofitorganizations that they oversee, deliberationsare carried out during what is called aMeeting for Worship for Business. At thesemeetings—which are fundamentally religiousin character—Friends are expected tomeditate, pray, and seek God’s will in reachingwhat Friends refer to as “the sense ofthe meeting.” That is what is meant by“minding the Light.” All who gather areexperienced in the process of seeking God’swill, all are committed to the centrality ofthe spiritual and religious bases of decisionmaking, and all accept the premise thatthere can be no decision until the sense ofthe meeting is reached.In organizations governed by Friendswhose boards include non-Friends (generallyfewer than half), training in and commitmentto these principles is expected. As alifelong Friend and a participant in andclerk of many Quaker groups and organizations,I have a deep conviction about thepower of this kind of decision making.Since my student days at Swarthmore inthe 1960s, however, I have understood thatSwarthmore College is not fundamentally areligious institution and that most peoplewho become associated with it have had littlecontact with Friends. At the same time, Ihave been impressed that the College hasmaintained the Friends’ traditions of commitmentto peace and justice, a commitmentto service to the community and socialchange, and a belief in minimizing thematerial and upholding moral and ethicalgoals.One aspect of the Friends’ tradition thathas continued at Swarthmore has been thepractice of the Board of Managers of makingdecisions without taking votes. Indeed,in the 12 years I served, the Dec. 2 meetingwas the only time the process of voting wasused. At no time during my years, on theother hand, were decisions made accordingto the manner of Friends.Meetings of the Board of Managers arenot considered to be Meetings for Worship.There is no common sense of seeking God’swill, nor is there any provision in the charteror the bylaws—as there would be in a Quakerorganization—about the requirementsfor making decisions according to the senseof the meeting. Rather, there has been anunderstanding that consensual decisions arevaluable because they do not create a victoriousmajority and a defeated minority,because the expectation of consensual decisionmaking often disciplines members toexplore all the alternatives and arguments inthe greatest depth, and because a decisionbehind which people are able to unite isusually more powerful in conveying the willof the group than decisions made in otherways. It is my understanding that the practiceof consensual decision making is nowcommonly thought to be the most effectivemethod in many nonprofit organizations.The decision before the Board of Managerslast December was a complex and difficultone in many ways. The factors underconsideration by the Board had been developingfor 20 or 30 years, not only atSwarthmore but also across the country atour sister schools. Unfortunately, the Boardand administration did not fully understandthe urgency of these issues for our missionand policies until the fall of 1999. At theDecember 1999 meeting, President AlfredH. Bloom brought to the Board’s attentionthe need to consider and resolve the twinproblems of athletes’ and coaches’ increasingdissatisfaction with their experience ofintercollegiate athletic competition atSwarthmore and the increasing pressuresfrom athletic recruitment on admissions.For not recognizing the great importance ofthe developing issues 5 or 10 years ago, wemust all take responsibility.After hearing from the president, theBoard moved quickly to ask the administrationto form an Athletics Review Committee(ARC). The goal of the Board was to have allthe information it would need for a thoroughdeliberation of the issues. We did notask the ARC to determine what was themost popular decision among any group,whether students, faculty, or alumni, butrather to include the whole range of perspectivesin their material and recommendations.At this point, those of us on the Boardmade a second mistake. We extended theM A R C H 2 0 0 177

L E T T E R SS W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I Ndate set for a decision from December 2000to May 2001 without taking sufficiently intoaccount the seasons of the College year andthe implications of a delay of a decision onour part on the lives of students, coaches,and potential students.Just prior to the Board meeting inDecember, many suggested that making adecision the following May was tantamountto making an immediate decision to endfootball, in particular, because of the timing.The Admissions Office clearly stated that itwas unprofessional and unethical for themto recruit athletes for teams whose futureswere unclear.Moved by these arguments, the Board atits December meeting decided that therewere compelling reasons to make the decisionin December. This issue was deeplyengaged, with many Board members speakingto the question. After a period of discussion,it was clear that those with widelyvarying opinions on the specific recommendationsof the ARC were in firm agreementthat the worst possible option was to postponethe decision. This decision was madeby consensus, with no one standing asidefrom it and with the passionate support ofmany Board members who disagreed witheach other on the recommendations.Yet at the moment that we decidedthrough consensus that an immediate decisionwas necessary, we knew that we mightnot be able to decide on the specific recommendationsof the ARC by consensus.Although a large majority favored the ARCrecommendations, several members continuedto believe strongly that the recommendationswere wrong, and that other pathswould be best for the College. As this divisionbecame clearer, Chairman Shane askedeach of us to indicate where we stood. Werealized that several people disagreed withthe majority, but that they had not raisedenough questions in the minds of themajority to change their views. It was alsoclear that the majority would not be able tochange the minds of at least some of thosein the minority. At that point, having agreedon the importance of reaching a decision atthis meeting, we reached a consensus thatwe should let the division stand—and thatwe would, for the record, consider the decisionabout the recommendations to havebeen made by a vote. Had we believed thatwe could have delayed the decision, wewould have agreed to continue the discussionat later meetings, in hopes of reachingconsensus.During the December meeting, we allunderstood that the circumstances that ledus to a vote were unfortunate but unavoidable.Not being required to make every decisionby consensus, we made an exceptionfor what we believed were compelling reasons.We also believed, however, that wewere creating the wisest possible process,given the circumstances, and that we wereacting in the best interests of the College.Throughout this difficult process, I haveperceived members of the Board to be inagreement that consensual decision makingis the preferred practice, that this instancewas an exception to our traditional method,and that we felt a sense of deep regret aboutfinding ourselves facing the necessity of adivided decision. As much as it is possibleand appropriate for a secular institutionwith a Quaker tradition to be, I believe thatSwarthmore College and its Board of Managerskeeps the inspiration and good practicesof the Society of Friends before themas they strive to carry out the mission of theCollege in their policies and decisions.DULANY OGDEN BENNETT ’66Portland, Ore.Bennett’s term on the Board of Managers endedin December after 12 years of service.UNSTATED SUBTEXTThe arguments put forth by the AthleticsReview Committee to explain the decisionsmade about the complex issues of athleticsat Swarthmore appear to be rational. However,there exists an unstated subtext thatrequires further analysis and open discussion.This subtext is the consistent viewheld by many in the academic community ofSwarthmore that sports are a waste of timeand that intellect is all. A barely hidden battlehas taken place for decades betweenthose who hold this position and otherswho believe that intercollegiate competitionhas a vital place in the life of the school. Itmay well be that proponents of the formerview have seen their opportunity, grasped it,and triumphed.I find it hard to believe that in the easternhalf of the United States our collegecannot find eight other schools with footballteams that recruit athletes within thelimits that Swarthmore finds appropriateand that would provide competition more orless equal to what we can offer.Swarthmore’s reputation as an effeteinstitution is not its strongest asset. Thisdecision makes it worse and is especiallytroublesome if it was made for the wrong—and as yet unacknowledged—reasons.PHILIP BRICKNER ’50New York CityAGAINST COMPETITIONWhat value is obtained from intercollegiatesports that cannot equally be found in intramurals—exceptcompetition? But sincewhen has competition as such been a valuein the Swarthmore community’s philosophy?Possibly these things run in cycles,and, some day not too far off, we will recoverour detachment and humor and rediscoverathletics as wonderful recreation—no moreand no less.I am pleased that the Board could notreach consensus on this issue. I trust thatwas because at least some could not supportthe idea of supporting 21 (!) intercollegiatesports.ROBERT HILLEGASS ’49Greenfield, N.H.ATHLETES COMPETING IN CLASSROOMSIt is simply a fallacy to believe that [athletics]recruitment efforts are synonymouswith allocation of admissions spaces forundeserving applicants.I state this strongly because of my experiencesas a member of the men’s soccerteam during the years between 1989 to1993. During this period, our team washighly competitive, not only locally butnationally. We won our division 3 times,advanced to the Mid-Atlantic Conferencesemifinals twice, qualified for the NationalChampionships twice, and advanced to thefinal 16 in the country once. And, concurrentwith these athletic achievements, myteammates were succeeding at similar ratesin the classroom.To use an admittedly simplistic yardstickof the academic credentials of my teammatesduring those four years, I quicklycount eight who have received Ph.D.s (ineconomics, mathematics, psychology, chemistry,classics, and philosophy), four whohave received M.D.s, three who havereceived M.A.s, and one who received a J.D.Undoubtedly, there are others who have78

chosen not to receive advanced degrees butare faring well in the world.ESTEBAN CARDEMIL ’93Providence, R.I.“NEGATIVE PATHOLOGIES”I write not to support the decision to dropfootball (as the College asserted on its Website) but to point out that the issue is farmore complex than either side’s public commentsadmit.Looking at Swarthmore’s won-lost recordssince the 1960s—when the NationalCollegiate Athletic Association allowed twoplatoonfootball, making it impossible tocompete with a team of 30 players—it isclear that most Swarthmore football teamsendured losing records and the pain thatgoes with them. Even those who experiencedwinning seasons felt marginalized asmainstream male athletes on Swarthmore’scampus. One of my ex-players commentedon the Board’s decision, “at least kids won’thave to suffer what we did”—and this youngman played on teams with winning records3 of his 4 years at Swarthmore! Many negativepathologies develop on losing teamsand in environments where people feel likeoutcasts.All members of the Board should also behonest concerning their role in the deteriorationof traditional team sports at the College.Several teams (including football, witha 7–3 record in 1990 and a 5–3–1 secondplaceConference finish in 1992; and basketball,with an Eastern Collegiate AthleticConference playoff team in 1991) enjoyedsuccess in the last years of Bob Barr’s [’56]tenure as dean of admissions.When the Board hired Al Bloom andapproved his policies to increase diversitywhile also increasing the academic rigor ofthe entering class, it set in motion thedemise of football. By the mid-1990s,almost all team sports were laughably bad,and the traditional male team sports wereanemic. It was at that point that the Board“discovered” the crisis and attempted theheroic rescue of football that has beenended by last December’s decision.Since 1992, the Bloom administrationmade clear that its mission was to makeSwarthmore more uniquely Swarthmorean.Although there was no overt desire to harmathletics, it was a case of malevolent neglect.At a school where the successful teams operatedon such a small margin, the new admissionsemphases (without any correspondingrole for athletics) spelled doom. The Boardof Managers and its tradition of consensus(or, more precisely, its inability to reach aconsensus on either eliminating football orsupporting it properly) produced a negativesituation where players failed to enjoy thepositive aspects of the sport and wherecoaches had their careers short-circuited—or else retired embittered. Perhaps a fewpowerful alumni “preserved” football but atwhat human cost?Although the Board’s action was traumaticfor the current coaches and players,what has been done to them follows the historyof Swarthmore College. Many playersand coaches who loved the school and theirsport have had their hearts broken by failurepredestined by the College’s admissionspolicies. Like me in 1990, they were foolishenough to believe that they had a chance todo what had never been done since the1960s—to make football a long-standing,successful program. Should we all haveknown better? Probably so, but hope canblind even the smartest people.KARL MIRANSwarthmore, Pa.Miran was head football coach from 1990 until1998.CHANGING THE COLLEGE’S CULTUREI write as a former member of the Board ofManagers and a fellow educator to expressmy deepest concern about the abolition offootball at Swarthmore. I believe this decisionwould, first, be disastrous for Swarthmore;second, alter the ethos of the campus;and, third, be socially irresponsible.Swarthmore’s deserved reputationamong undergraduate liberal arts collegesstems from its decades-long, successful pursuitof two interrelated goals: academicexcellence and diversity among its studentbody. Abandonment or significant narrowingof its current intercollegiate athleticsprogram (of which football is the flagshipprogram because of the unique historicaland cultural role it has played in the historyof American higher education) would signalthat the college has decided to abandon itsprevious commitment to recruit a diversestudent body.Abandonment of football would signalthat instead of considering Williams, Wesleyan,Amherst, Oberlin, Lawrence, Pomona, orCarleton as our peer institutions, Swarthmorewould be configuring itself to competewith Bennington, Antioch, Haverford, SarahLawrence, Vassar, or Brandeis.The absence of football would tell applicantswho wish to be part of a well-roundedstudent body: You’ll be happier elsewherebecause at Swarthmore your class will notcontain a total range of classmates withwhom you can interact; this college excludesand does not esteem the physically robustwho enjoy teamwork and vigorous athleticcompetition.Retention of a diverse student body is asocial responsibility of the College. Swarthmoreis unique in the education it provides—especiallythe social ethic it transmits.Perhaps unique among American colleges,its Quaker tradition encourages itsstudents to select socially meaningfulcareers and to assist the less fortunate inour society. And I think our nation would bethe poorer if, 20 years and more from now,Swarthmore’s influence would no longer beas strongly felt among our nation’s leadersin commerce, politics, law, and even academics.Such people are frequently scholar-athletes.Instead of an institution with a futureorientedmission, Swarthmore will havetransformed itself into a college that existssolely to serve a special kind of contemporaryclientele. It will have become a preciouslittle community of the like-minded that haslittle sense of its responsibility to educateand influence the nation’s future leaders.MICHEL OKSENBERG ’60Atherton, Calif.This letter was written in the days before theBoard of Managers’ decision on athletics. Sadly,Michel Oksenberg died on Feb. 22.TCORRECTIONSThanks to Nell Lancaster ’74 for pointingout that the quotation attributed to NelsonMandela on the January 2001 page of theSwarthmore calendar is actually from apoem by Mary Ann Williamson. Mandelaused it in his inaugural address, and it isfrequently misattributed to him.Also, the photos of Lea Haravon Collins’89 (December “In My Life”) were taken byJane Martin, not Linda Kahlbaugh.M A R C H 2 0 0 179

O U R B A C K P A G E SS W A R T H M O R E C O L L E G E B U L L E T I N80F r i e n d s f o r L i f eS W A R T H M O R E C O N N E C T I O N S W I T H S T A N D T H E T E S T O F T I M E .By Andrea HammerThe power of Swarthmore friendships,tended over many decades, ispalpable. At campus gatherings,chatting friends visibly soak up the pleasureof each other’s company. Three elderlywomen in matching pink jackets whisperto each other as they did during College; aquartet of men, at first intently debating apoint, pat each other on the back.Still central to their lives, Swarthmorefriendships remain a guiding force despitethe challenges of time. Several groups fromthe 1940s—a fraction of innumerable lifetimefriends from Swarthmore—illuminatethe mysteries of keeping these lifelonglinks connected.P a r a l l e l L i v e sM Ii r r o r e d i n M o d e s t ynseparable at alumni events, Lyn PurdyJones ’40 and Mary Lois Broomell Eberle’40 mirror each other in quiet modesty:crowns of white hair framing rosy cheeks,bashful giggles still percolating from their20s, and exchanged looks of instant understandingfrom a golden friend. Jones, currentclass secretary, and Eberle, currentclass agent and class president, first met in1936 as freshmen on the same hall inParrish Fourth West—they said simultaneously.As roommates in their senior year,their friendship bloomed.“Our brothers also became roommatesat the College,” Eberle said. “It just happened,”Jones marveled.Their common interests at Swarthmorehave kept their steps in sync. Both wereFrench majors, members of the Women’sStudent Government Association, and fieldhockey players who joined Gwimp—thesports managers group. After graduation,Jones and Eberle both also taught atPhiladelphia’s Friends Central School.Continuing in rhythm, both marriedtheir College sweethearts in 1941 and“were in each other’s weddings,” Jonessaid. She betrothed Edmund ’39, now asenior partner with Jones, Strohm, Crain &Guthrie, and had four children. Eberlewedded Charles “Buzz” Eberle ’40, an avidathlete and class president who died in1986; she also had 4 children and 13 grandchildrento rally her—in addition to longtimefriends. Soon after her husband’sdeath, Eberle wrote: “One doesn’t realizehow important friends are until somethinglike this happens. My Swarthmore friendsare my oldest and best.”In memory of her husband, who wasactive with Friends of Athletics at theCollege, Eberle supported the EberleInternship Program for interns training towrite about sports. In 1965, Jones and herhusband also created the Edmund A. JonesScholarship—keeping the spirit of theirdeceased son, Ted, alive by helping dozensof talented area scholars attend Swarthmore.These lifetime friends have both beendedicated to community service activities.“We are both members of the League ofWomen Voters,” said Jones, an activeSwarthmore Friends Meeting member.Similarly, Eberle has given time and energyto the Unitarian Society of Germantown.The College recognized their outstandingservice to the College by bestowing theJoseph P. Shane Award on Eberle in 1990and Jones in 1992. Both have taken turnsas class secretary, class agent, and AlumniCouncil members.In between writing Class Notes, whichJones hand delivers on deadline withoutfail, she shares Eberle’s interest in AlumniCollege Abroad trips. “I’ve been on 25 ofthem,” said Eberle, who has relished theseopportunities to “learn from excellent professorsand achieve a close feeling betweenSwarthmore alumni.”When they’re not traveling, you canfind Jones and Eberle sitting side by side atMARY LO BROOMELL EBERLE (LEFT) AND LYN PURDYJONES GRADUATED TOGETHER IN 1940. DURINGVOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP WEEKEND THIS YEAR, THEYSTILL STOOD SIDE BY SIDE IN FRIENDSHIP.campus events like Volunteer LeadershipWeekend, when they enjoyed baggedlunches together on a Kohlberg Hall bench.Their eyes sparkle with a shared zest forlife, magnetizing two friends who radiate60 years of common connections—withSwarthmore at the center.P s y c h o l o g i c a l P r o x i m i t yD Ne s p i t e G e o g r a p h i c D i s t a n c eow living worlds apart, Don Smith ’47of Long Island, N.Y.; Phil Gilbert ’48of Kennett Square, Pa.; and Si Goudsmit’48 of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, havemaintained a strong connection across themiles and years. In addition to e-mail andsnail mail, they have never hesitated to stayin touch by telephone internationally.“There may have been geographic distance,”Gilbert said, “but psychologically,we always live around the corner from eachother.”Gilbert and Goudsmit were first pulledtogether on campus when Smith drew thebest Wharton suite and invited them in assuitemates. “In the beginning, I much appreciatedPhil’s cheerful disposition,” Goudsmitsaid. “My family lived in Holland, andPhil soon introduced me to his parents,whomade me welcome when I visited them.”As a chemistry major who later receiveda master’s in business administration fromAdelphi University, Gilbert also learnedmany lessons from his friends over theyears. “Don introduced me to Quakerism;Si introduced me to international affairs,”he said. Now, “I am the same garrulouscharacter. Don and Si are the same deep,quiet fellows. But I learned better and betterto listen when they spoke, learning thatSTEVEN GOLDBLATT ʼ67

whatever they said had thought behind it.”Goudsmit was an economics major atSwarthmore, who received a master’s inbusiness administration from Harvard.“Phil says that I am a private person, andthat is probably true. But there are peoplewith whom I intuitively connect and feelcomfortable,” he said. “In this type of relationship,years and distance are irrelevant:the friendship will stay constant.”As part of Swarthmore’s Quaker matchbox,Don married Jane Ann Jones ’48, andPhil committed himself to Alice Higley ’48.In 1950, Si returned to Holland and marriedDona Carrington ’50. “Soon Alice andPhil paid a visit toAmsterdam, one of themany European tripsthat they took over thenext 50 years,” Si said.On one trip, theywere walking throughone of the massiveflower shows that are“regular fare in theNetherlands,”Goudsmit said. “Inoticed that every time Iwas thinking of makinga turn, right or left, Ifound Si taking thatturn,” Gilbert said.Recently, the Goudsmitswere able to visit theGilberts, still sharingtheir interest in finegardens.Reflecting on thePHIL GILBERT ’48,HALCYONSI GOUDSMIT ’48,AND DON SMITH ’47(TOP TO BOTTOM)HAVE MAINTAINEDA LIFELONG LINK.strength of the trio’slasting friendship,Gilbert added: “Mostimportant, there hasbeen nothing to comebetween us. We are threemen, each married tothe same women for 50-plus years, each rathersuccessful in our careers, and none puttingunreasonable demands on the others.”R o u n d R o b i n K e e p sC Ii r c l e C o n n e c t e dn November 1944, in the waning days ofWorld War II, 15 members of the Classof 1948 formed a lifelong group. They startedout as freshmen together on ParrishSecond East, when the class had only 10“My Swarthmore friends are my oldest and best.”men plus a shipload of Navy V12 sailors inWharton. Sticking together as they movedto other floors—most to Third East assophomores—they scattered during thenext two, with about half rooming nearby.As seniors, many were reunited in Worth.“We spent a lot of time with eachother,” said Lois Ledwith Frost, the RoundRobin organizer. “We shared meals andlate-night gab sessions, agonizing overexams and papers and visiting in eachother’s homes over the holidays.”Now hailing from North Carolina toCalifornia and beyond, the same patterncontinues—with the diverse group reconnectingduring five-year reunions, minigatherings,and Round Robin letters. Frostsends a note to the group members, eachresponds to her, and then the entirepackage is circulated.Winnie Muir Martinek, anotherRobin in Connecticut, said she eagerlyanticipates the package. “When theRound Robin arrives each year, I dropeverything to sit down and read!”Before their 40th reunion in 1988,they decided to meet privately first—without husbands or children. The groupwas still hungry for more time together, somembers met again for field trips to theBarnes Foundation in Merion, Pa., during1990 and the Gardner Museum in Bostonduring 1992.“A memorable [gathering] was in 1996,”said Frost, “when all 15 of us met at theMedia Inn for a weekend, chartered a busto go to the Cézanne Exhibit, and had awonderful time.” Martinek also has vividmemories of the gathering, when theyexchanged photos and reviewed their lives.“It was like being back on Second East, sittingaround in our pj’s, reminiscing aboutold times,” she said.As genuine friends who share joy as wellas sorrow, they support each other unconditionally.“We have a telephone tree whentragedy strikes. Although we’ve been prettyfortunate, we have lost two husbands and agrown son—and there have been manydivorces, both ours and our children’s, toweather. In earlier days, we went to eachother’s weddings, which were always happytimes,” Frost said. Of the 15, 10 originallymarried Swarthmore men.Nancy Burnholz Rawson—anothermember in Massachusetts, was a recipientof the group’s strength on both ends of thespectrum. “When my husband, Ed ’48, diedin 1986, the Robins provided incrediblesupport. Of course, they had all known Edas long as I had. They shared our courtship,so somehow it lives on in a way itwouldn’t otherwise. A couple of them hadABOVE: SOME OF THE ROUND ROBINS—PATTYINGLESBY THOMAS, ISABEL BROWN GALLIGAN,MAGGIE CLOUGH SCHWERTNER, GERALDINE FINKWASSERMAN, LOIS LEDWITH FROST, AND PAT PLANKDICKINSON (LEFT TO RIGHT)—APPEAR AT THECOLLEGE IN 1945. LEFT: THE ROBINS WEREREUNITED AT A 1996 MINI-REUNION.even dated him before I did! We all have along history. In happy times, we share eachother’s joys,” she said.Martinek also received help from fellowmember and accomplished potter SusieMcEldowney Dean, who lives in Fairbanks,Alaska. When the stepson of Martinek’sdaughter, Barbara, was in a car accident inDenali Park and flown to a hospital in Fairbanks,“Susie and her husband helped.... Itwas an act of kindness on Susie’s part thatI am most grateful for,” she said.The Round Robins—from a psychiatristto an avid gardener to an Antarctic traveler—thriveon their varied interests. “We’rea diverse bunch, with a lot of differentinterests, which is why it’s such fun to gettogether,” Frost said. TM A R C H 2 0 0 1

R E T U R N T O T H EW O O D STERRY WILDAlumni WeekendJune 8–10, 2001Swarthmore’s lush campus is an integral partof the College experience. We invite youto explore the beauty of Swarthmore today.Join us for Alumni Weekend, and make plansnow to return to the woods.